Lost in the Shadows
by Spottedleafpaw
Summary: Santa Carla, 1989. Two years have passed since the Emersons have joined Max's coven, and all seems as if going according to plan. Yet new blood is drawn like the pull of gravity towards the seaside town, set to capsize the 'perfect' setup the Lost Boys have carefully ay, a witch; Alexis, a psychic; and Liz, a human. These ruthless killers aren't ready for them.
1. The Fool

Hey guys...here I go again!

BEFORE READING... Fanfic dot net doesn't allow for image embedding from what I understand, so the prologue of sorts where I give you all more depth and character info to my OCs is strictly limited to AO3! PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT if you want pictures, details, and more info on the characters! If that is too much trouble I can always edit this chapter to add the info, though the pictures will be lacking.

I'm not one for OCs normally (though in the past I have used some in stories, now deleted lol) so I tried my best to give these girls life and realism. Hopefully they don't border too much on Mary-Sues or the like... I drew a lot of inspiration from AHS for Shay and Alexis (if you couldn't tell) as their character face-claims are in fact Taissa and Emma. Similarities are therefore somewhat intentional, sort of like a spinoff season of AHS crossed over with the Lost Boys PFFT. Liz was completely brought up from the drawing board, if anything maybe a touch inspired by Keke Palmer's character from Scream Queens.

I love the Lost Boys SO MUCH that I really wanted to try my hand at a story set in their world once more. Hopefully you all like it; some of it will be a bit predictable I'm sure, but I'm going for that cheesy 80's horror setup so it shouldn't surprise y'all too much ;)

Comments are my fuel so please leave them in abundance!

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**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 1**

_Freezing breath on a window pane_

_Lying and waiting_

_A man in the dark in a picture frame_

_So mystic and soulful_

_A voice reaching out in a piercing cry_

_It stays with you until_

_The feeling has gone only you and I_

_It means nothing to me_

_\- 'Vienna', Ultravox_

Winter's chill, though not unexpected, was unwelcome in the city of Santa Carla as far as the Lost Boys were concerned. The masses of tourists and flocks of easy prey dwindled significantly, and hunting therefore was rather difficult. More often than not, David would have to send two or three of them on scouting missions to bring back homeless people or drunken stragglers from the big cities of Los Angeles or San Diego, which took a toll on all of them. The wait was unbearable, and having to share the prey was a test on everyone's tolerance. David couldn't wait until springtime arrived to thaw out the land and bring a wave of fresh meat spilling onto the boardwalk.

Now that there were more of them in Max's coven, his little family had to work much harder to provide for everyone. Lucy and her two sons were fully turned as of December 23rd, Sam's 18th birthday. Of course, those weren't the only major changes to the family. There must have been something in the Emerson blood, but as soon as Michael and Sam were fully turned, something awoke inside David and Marko, a calling that thrummed under their undead skin and through their cold hearts, almost as if injecting a spark of livelihood into them again that they felt was missing.

Max was able to shine some light onto the issue, proclaiming David and Michael as a soul bonded pair, the first he had seen in a good century. Shortly after, upon Sam's turning, the same occurred with Marko and Max was delighted to have another soul bonded coupling within his coven.

"It's an honor to be your sire," he had said to both Michael and Sam, who side eyed each other uncomfortably. Despite this, Michael still fought the pull, stubbornly insisting that he was in love with Star. Upon discovering his soulmate, for all intents and purposes, David cast Star out of his bed and began pursuing Michael with fervor. Star meekly stayed out of their tussles, as she still remained only a half-vampire to this day. Max insisted on waiting for a 'replacement' kill for her that would equal Michael, whatever that meant.

"We'll find out once she turns if you really belong with her," David told him often, grinning as he saw the panic flash in Michael's eyes. Michael and Star would continue on in their lie of a romance until then, and David could wait. He was a patient vampire, but he did admit seeing another draped all over his soulmate ruffled him. He may be patient, but it was beginning to wear thin.

Marko and Sam were so easy together, which stung further. Seeing the two cuddling on the couch after the weekly family dinners and video night at Max's house, softly whispering to each other and snickering, sometimes stealing kisses when they thought no one was looking... it was too easy for David to picture himself and Michael and it filled him with pain and rage. He suspected Michael felt it too, as their emotions as soul bonded mates were said to begin to attune to one another the longer they were together.

It was for this reason that he chose Dwayne to come out with him to the boardwalk that night, as he did not need the distraction during the hunt. The winter chill had no effect on them, but they kept up appearances and bundled up in heavier jackets with layers of clothing underneath. The post-Christmas crowds would be out and about, which was good fortune for them. Hopefully they could snag something tastier than the last pair of vagrants they had fed on last week.

o.o.o.o.o

The townhome was located in a block of similar looking buildings mere feet from the Santa Carla boardwalk. It was far from stellar, but it had been built in the last few years at least. Three storied, with a small fenced in backyard connecting to the back alleyway. The front entrance looked out onto the boardwalk and the beach was not too far beyond that. Shay could already tell she was going to need some soundproofing wards set up throughout the house to keep out all the noise once it got more crowded.

"Shay, come on in! I've got the heater turned on." Shay snapped out of her musing to see that the door had been flung open and the grinning face of Liz (short for Lizette) Ross met her own. Despite only wearing a worn-out old Kiss t-shirt and some sweats with her dark hair piled into a curly bun atop her hair, Liz looked great as usual. She had natural beauty through and through, as her father's African-American genes mixed with her mother's Scottish ancestry shone through into the beautiful person that she was. Liz was down to earth and casual about it, though, which was a bonus. Shay smiled back at her friend and began dragging her suitcase towards the front stoop. Liz hopped down the stairs and scooped up her pet carrying crate, ignoring the cat's yowling protests in favor of wrapping her other arm around Shay's shoulders quickly for a hug.

"Good to finally be here. Did you settle in okay?" Shay asked.

"Yeah, Alexis got here yesterday with the movers and I got here this morning. We put most of your stuff in the room you picked out, but we'll leave it to you to set up!" she replied, setting the crate down to help Shay drag the suitcase up and into the house before shutting the door.

"Is that my Shay-bay?" a loud excited voice squealed from inside, and before she could blink a blur engulfed her into a crushing hug. "Glad you made it here in one piece! We're in the murder capital of the world you know." Shay laughed, and Alexis let her go to run over to the cat crate. "And how did Mr. Jareth like the trip?" she cooed, opening the little gate to let the large black cat out. He mrrow-ed grumpily and made a beeline for the couch.

"He sat on my lap the whole time, actually. I just now had to put him in the crate again to bring him inside and he loved that," Shay responded with a shake of her head. Liz and Alexis laughed heartily, and then began to help Shay carry her stuff to her room.

"You know Alexis has the master suite on the third floor, of course," Liz said as they headed up the stairs. "Since her parents bought us this place and all."

"No complaints there," Shay quipped, smiling at her two friends. "You and I share the middle floor then, right?"

"Yeah, your room is the door on the right," Alexis called from behind them, struggling to wrangle the cat crate up the stairs without making too much of a mess.

Shay grinned and pushed open the door on the right of the landing. Her bed, desk, and dresser were clearly visible amongst the many, many boxes that lay in piles around the room. Her bookshelves were placed along the walls, with enough space in case she decided to move them to a different spot. Navigating her way through towards the bed, she tossed her backpack onto the mattress and turned her attention to the bay window that dominated the front wall of the room. It was why she chose this room out of all of them; it would be perfect for a reading nook, of course, but the direct light of the moon shone silvery and beautiful down from the sky onto the ledge: just as she had hoped. She would need it for spellcasting.

Shay, in fact, was a witch. She had been a descendent of Salem through her mother's line, and had been taught the arts by both her mother and grandmother. She had grown up there, in Salem, with her family all very close by. She was quite a gifted witch; most focus on one or two areas of specialty, but Shay had decided to master a bit of everything as it all seemed to come naturally to her. Herbalism, crystals, candle magick, hex bags; all of it was easy for her. Shay of course kept it all very secret from her two friends and now roommates, but she worried that now they were living together something would come out. Her friends knew she was into the whole 'Wiccan' thing, which was a decent enough cover, but she still felt decently worried they would figure it all out and shun her for it. They had been friends for years, as their parents had all met in college and kept in touch. Becoming roommates was a natural choice for them upon deciding to leave their family homes; they needed to figure out their lives, but why not together?

"Well, I know you, Shay, you'll be up all night organizing everything in here until you pass out... have you eaten at least? When do you start work?" Liz asked, bringing Shay out of her head and back to the present.

"Yeah, I ate on the road before I got here, and I start work next week so I'm good. I'll have my space set up how I like it before then," she said, knowing how absolutely right Liz was about her tendencies. She was a quintessential Virgo after all.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it then. I think Alexis already put food out for Jareth so no worries there, I'm sure he'll be up here eventually!" Liz said, before leaving the room with a little wave. Shay smiled to herself. Jareth was her familiar, a black cat (too cliche? Maybe, but Shay could care less) who weighed a little too much but loved her unconditionally. He was named for the Goblin King from the movie Labyrinth, a film that had come out a few years prior that Shay absolutely adored.

She began to work on autopilot, unboxing books and hanging clothes and the like. She pulled sheets and bedding onto her mattress, noticing halfway through the unboxing of another box that Jareth had snuck into the room and made himself at home on the bed. She set up her record player and put some music on to help the process go by a bit faster. Once all her clothes were hung in the closet or folded into her dresser, she began to tackle the books. Alexis poked her head in once to offer her a drink, and Shay drained the water and went straight back to work.

Finally, she felt confident enough in her progress to begin setting up her supplies. Her altar went first, in the northern corner of the room, to the right of the bay window. She put her spellbooks and jars of herbs on the bookshelf beside it, and began to set everything in its proper place. She let out a sigh, feeling marginally better. She would be able to cast a simple protection spell on the house tonight, and that would help her sleep easy. Standing up and stretching, she twisted around to crack her back, letting out a groan.

"Oof, sounded brutal. You think you'd be up to run to the convenience store with me real quick before it closes? We need snacks!" Alexis had poked her head in again, and Shay let out a hum of assent. She grabbed her boots and jacket, slipping her purse out from the hook on the closet door before running down the stairs after Alexis.

Alexis Weiss was one of the most beautiful people currently working the film and modeling industry, which made it a hard time for them to go out usually as she was swarmed with attention (some that she wanted, some she loathed). Shay was used to it, but it still got on her nerves when they were needing to run simple errands like picking up snacks at the store. With her long dirty blonde hair, sharp gray eyes, and perfect complexion, Alexis had a face that drew people in; she sort of made you want to look at her. Her lithe frame, always graceful and elegantly dressed, was also a point in her favor. Currently, Alexis was doing her best to ignore a group of scruffy looking guys that reeked of pot as they attempted to ask her out.

"Do you like Oreos?" she asked Shay, who nodded and laughed a bit as the guys tried to talk to her about their favorite cookies in response (even though she was not talking to them). Shay grabbed some chips and a loaf of bread, with a jar of peanut butter for good measure. After throwing a few more snacks into their basket and heading over to the register to pay, the guys seemed to give up and left the store. Alexis did not seem to relax, however, and Shay noticed her glance over at the doors with a furrowed brow more than once.

"You okay?" she asked, and Alexis shuddered a bit before turning back to their bags, smiling.

"Yeah, just kinda like... deja-vu or something, you know?" she said softly as they walked out of the doors into the chilly night air.

The boardwalk was populated here and there with a few groups of people, but sparsely so. Shay and Alexis walked closely together with hurried steps to escape the cold, weaving through the streets as quickly as they could laden with several grocery bags. They turned down one road and came face to face with, well nothing. It was a dead end, with a few dumpsters and garbage scattered on the street.

"Hm, I guess we turned too early... still not used to this place," Alexis muttered, and they turned to head back to the main street, only to run smack into the guys from the convenience store. The leader, a creep with a scraggly beard, grabbed onto Alexis's arms and grinned.

"Nice to see you again, babe," he purred, grip tightening around her arms to a point where she cried out in pain.

"Get off me, you asshole! Let go!" she began struggling fiercely, but another friend of his had come up behind her and boxed her in between the two of them. Shay's heart fell into her stomach; she couldn't cast a spell in public like this, but if she didn't act soon... Rough hands were suddenly around her waist, and she yelped as another guy whirled her around to face his gloating face.

"This one's kinda cute too, heh..." he began to lean into her, but she turned away and struggled to free herself. Her shopping bags had fallen to the ground in the scuffle, and she opened her mouth to scream but the creep reached up and muffled her cries with his hand.

"Get off her, let us go!" Alexis managed to screech before she too was silenced, and the guys began to drag them back towards the alley. Shay was panicking, trying her best to remember non-verbal spells that she could use to paralyze the guy touching her, but her mind was blanking; tears began to swim in her eyes, as she heard the sound of Alexis's shirt rip.

"What have we here boys?" a silky smooth voice cut across the winter chill like a steel knife. Shay froze, and the guy groping her also stopped moving; at the mouth of the alleyway stood two leather-clad figures, one a blonde mulleted guy in a trench coat and another, taller one with dark feathery hair and piercing eyes. Shay's eyes widened as the two newcomers seemed to move quicker than they should have been able to, and the blonde was in front of her captor with a small smile.

"Let go," he whispered, and Shay felt her attacker's grip slack and fall away from her. She stumbled back, eyes darting over to Alexis. The dark haired one had both the other guys' arms in his hands, his smile more a grimace as he looked at them. Alexis had tear streaks down her face, but her expression was fierce and full of rage. She was holding her ripped shirt together, her jacket gone. Shay darted over to her, gripping her arm and helping her shield her body from the cold and prying eyes.

"You. Don't get to touch," the dark-haired one growled at the two assailants, twisting their arms at unnatural angles to accentuate his point. They began to squeal in pain, until the blonde interfered.

"Dwayne!" he barked, and Shay noticed a curious look in his eyes as he observed his companion. "Not here." Dwayne dropped the two guys he was holding, and they scrambled away. Their friend ducked around the blonde and followed, leaving the girls with these two intimidating men. Shay's breath was shallow and her heartbeat frantic; she knew they needed to get out of here, and quickly. Her magic was tingling in her fingertips, singing at her to flee.

"You're new here, yes?" the blonde questioned, eyes seeming to smile at them despite the impassable look on his face. Shay nodded, and gripped Alexis's hand tight.

"Go home. Get inside." The one named Dwayne said suddenly, stepping aside to pick up their discarded bags. He walked towards them and held them out to the girls, who paused a beat before reaching out to gingerly grab them. Shay felt a shift in the air as she noticed Alexis and Dwayne's eyes connect, and she gripped her friend tightly before ducking out of the alley as quickly as she could, pulling Alexis behind her.

"Thank you!" she heard Alexis blurt out suddenly to the two figures as they rushed away. Shay hissed under her breath; her friend was not a good judge of character. As they bolted down the street, they heard melodious laughter followed by the echoes of screams that sounded vaguely like those of their captors. Alexis's hand tightened around hers and they hurried away with a quicker pace now, breathing heavy and cheeks flushed. Shay had felt a distinctly dangerous aura about those two, and she hoped she wouldn't have the misfortune of running into them ever again.


	2. The Magician

**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 2**

_So long, I've been looking too hard,_

_I've been waiting too long_

_Sometimes I don't know what I will find,_

_I only know it's a matter of time_

_\- 'Waiting for a Girl Like You', Foreigner_

Dwayne wiped the viscous blood from his face on the back of his hand haphazardly; he could feel his vampiric form itching to tear into more meat, go on a full fledged rampage tonight, but he had to resist and save the rest of their meal for their brothers. The man he had drank from still had a bit left to give, but Dwayne couldn't resist kicking him again for good measure. David approached him slowly, something curious alighting his eyes.

"What was all that?" he questioned, a layer of sincerity under the amusement. Dwayne took a deep breath, cracking his neck before answering.

"Not really sure. Probably just irritable from hunger," he replied gruffly. David knew he was holding back, of course. In truth, Dwayne had no idea why he had ripped into those creeps as viciously as he had, but even now he could tell that something was off with him. He had never felt rage like this, almost as if seeing them about to take advantage of those two girls in the alley spurred on his anger. Sure they were lowlives and about to do something unspeakable to the girls, but it wasn't like Dwayne was an innocent angel. Hell, that was a laugh to even consider.

"Whatever, let's get the blood bags home. Don't want them expiring before we get there," David chose to leave it alone, which was something Dwayne appreciated. As David had created him first amongst the boys, he had been around the longest and was given a modicum more trust than the rest as a result. Dwayne reached over and grabbed two of the guys who lay moaning on the ground and hefted one over his shoulder. He caught a whiff of that girl on the thugs' clothing, the one with the fire in her eyes. His breath became shallow as he basked in her sweet scent, and if David noticed anything he said nothing about it.

As they flew, carrying their prey back to the cave, Dwayne couldn't get her image out of his mind. She looked so fragile, a pitiful human with blood singing through her veins just asking him to drink from her. Her creamy exposed flesh with labyrinths of veins running under the surface beckoned him from her torn blouse, and the thought of those men trying to mar it caused a white hot rage to blaze through him. He wanted to run his tongue across her angled, sharp features and twist his hands into her long soft hair the color of goldenrods. He sank his teeth into his bottom lip to suppress a groan, feeling both aroused and starved, as if the meal he had just gorged himself on had been nothing. He had almost forgotten what these true feelings of desperation were like. They touched down at the mouth of the cave, and immediately Paul was there with Marko in tow, grinning at the sight of three limp humans still gushing with fresh blood.

"Share with the others," David growled, as Paul had already grabbed onto one's arm and sank his teeth into him. Marko wasted no time in grabbing one from Dwayne and dragging him into the cave, his whimpers and grunts of protest completely ignored. Dwayne swatted Paul's greedy hands away as he stepped over him.

"You have one already," he snapped, following Marko into the cave to give the last one to Laddie and Star. They hadn't made their first kill yet, but they could drink from humans in small amounts now without fully turning as it helped their transition. Max wanted Laddie to age a bit more before taking him on a hunt, and Dwayne agreed with him. The youngster was a handful as it is, and having an eternal child on hand was not something the pack wanted to deal with as it would raise many questions.

Marko had taken his human straight over to where Sam was sitting, and the two of them were sharing a meal as lovingly as a pair of soul bonded bloodthirsty killers could. Disgusting, Dwayne thought fondly. He had a soft spot for Sam and Marko, but he would never show it openly. He tossed the last human over to Michael and Star, who latched onto the body with groans of delight. Laddie came running over and timidly took a bite out of the man's left arm, letting out a little squeak of happiness as the blood rushed over his lips.

"Can't wait until winter's over, man," Paul said, having returned from his meal with a surprisingly non-messy face. Normally Paul was the most ferocious eater of them all, but David must have kept him in check tonight. Hence the complaints. Dwayne said nothing, thoughts of the beautiful girl with fire in her eyes coming back into his mind unbidden.

o.o.o.o.o

Needless to say, as soon as Shay and Alexis returned home that night, Liz was frantic at their appearance and had half a mind to rush back out there and pummel those guys for touching her friends. Shay had a sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't be seeing those men ever again, however. The two men, the blonde and the one called Dwayne, they seemed to have taken care of it... which terrified her. She hated feeling like she owed any debts to others, and now she felt beholden to them in a small way. Rather than dwell on it, however, she immediately went to her room after making sure Alexis was okay. Her friend was tough, but internalized her feelings much too carefully.

Before sleeping that night, Shay set to work on consecrating her altar space and then eventually the house as a whole. Liz and Alexis had gone to bed thankfully by the time she really got to work, setting up protection spells at the windows and doors. She would finalize everything in her two friend's rooms once they were not at home, but for now she felt marginally safer with wards over the building and all the negative energy in the home banished. She spent a good twenty minutes after this in deep meditation in front of her altar, breathing in the herbs and incense she had burning as it mixed with the fragrance of her spell candles.

There was a deep energy in Santa Carla that she was unprepared for; unlike the old magic that ran through Salem, which she had tapped into over time and gotten used to, the magic of Santa Carla was wild and fierce, fresher and more dangerous. There was an underlying current of something dark there too, and Shay worried about her friends firstly as they wouldn't be able to pick up on these things as easily as she could. Sighing, she ended her ritual and decided to turn in for the night, hoping that she would have relatively peaceful dreams but not expecting too much.

Shay's dreams consisted of blurred figures and garbled frantic words, and the scent of iron overwhelmed her as she groggily pulled herself out of bed, grimacing. It seemed to be around noon, as the sun hung high in the sky streaming through her window. She needed to unpack her curtains.

"Finally up?" Alexis chirped at her as she emerged into the kitchen. She was like a whole new person as she sat at the kitchen table eating some fruit; Alexis was like that, though. Nothing much could really keep her down for long, and in fact it only made her more sarcastic and snappy in the long run. Shay yawned, but grabbed some yogurt from the fridge and sat across from her.

"What's your plan for the day then?" she asked, spooning some of the yogurt into her mouth and humming in delight.

"Got some modeling shit to take care of, new contracts and such, meeting my agent in town at the studio if you wanna come along." Alexis's career was taking off at an alarming rate, as she had already starred in three major films and had done a significant amount of modeling work. She could let it get to her head sometimes, and that bitchy side of her would come out which Shay tolerated to a point. Liz was really good at snapping her back to reality, which is why the three of them worked so well as friends. Shay finished her yogurt in a few more bites and stood back up.

"Yeah, I'll come with. Liz already left?" Shay wanted to get a feel for the town during the day, as her senses at night had brought up some pretty strange vibes. She wondered if the town was always like this, or if it only really came out with the absence of the sun.

"She went to orientation at her new job. Some diner, I think. Go get dressed, I need to be there by 1," Alexis said, and Shay threw her spoon into the dishwasher and darted back up the stairs.

It was still winter, despite their being in California, so Shay threw on a few layers of clothing just to be safe: black jeans, dark green shirt with a black and white checkered flannel over it, and her worn denim jacket. A light dusting of makeup helped her feel less insecure; Alexis's agent was extremely critical but had often complimented Shay, so she wanted to keep that image in her mind. She threw on some rings and a few necklaces which she had imbued with protective charms and calming magick: one pendant had a rough black tourmaline crystal hanging from a chain, which was an all-around fantastic repellant for negative energy and harmful frequencies. After running a brush through her hair so that it lay flat, she grabbed her bag and her boots and headed back down the stairs.

Alexis locked up, and the two of them headed into town. It was chilly but bearable, and the sun's bright rays had the both of them slipping on sunglasses and feeling much better about the city as compared to last night. In daylight, Santa Carla was a charming little beachside city, with novelty shops as well as traditional style locales, decent looking folk rummaging around the town as they went about their day, and of course a high population of odd looking individuals scattered through the streets. Misfits, but altogether harmless from what Shay was sensing. Yes, this city had an aura that drew all sorts to it, and its energy was thrilling as well as so enticing that most of these people were sure to be unable to resist its pull.

"From what she told me on the phone, it's down this street right here..." Alexis mused, linking arms with Shay and turning down one of the streets that took them off the main boardwalk and onto a sidewalk that held many sorts of establishments on either side of the road. She strode confidently up to one of the doors and pushed it open, dragging Shay inside with her.

"I don't think this is right," Shay muffled a laugh behind her hand as they stared at rows upon rows of comic books and other nerdy memorabilia. Alexis huffed, pushing her sunglasses down off her nose a bit.

"Guess not. Hard to tell the numbers on these places. Well, let's-" she whirled around to run into a tall male figure who was standing by the door. "Can I help you?" she sputtered, hand on her heart.

"Should be asking you that," the guy spoke, arms crossed over his chest. He had short, dark, almost black hair, a tan complexion, and wore army pants with a cutoff grey shirt. His eyes were deep brown and they currently were trained suspiciously on Alexis. She raised her eyebrows, clearly unimpressed.

"Do you work here or something?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "If you do, it's rude to sneak up on potential customers like that, I nearly had a heart attack."

"Too bad you didn't," the guy snorted, and Alexis's moth dropped open into a small 'o' of surprise.

"Hey!" she snapped, but another voice cut off any next quips she had planned to fire off.

"You girls need something, or are you just here to waste our time?" this voice was deep and gravelly, and Shay whipped around to meet another pair of deep brown eyes staring inscrutably straight at her. This guy was tall, with a hard face framed by dirty blonde shaggy hair. He had it pulled back off his face slightly by way of a red bandana, and wore black army pants tucked into heavy boots. His white shirt had a faded image of some sort on it, so faded that Shay couldn't make it out. He sported a worn looking green jacket and was carrying a stack of comic books which he set down heavily on the front counter. Shay couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something that caused her skin to erupt in goosebumps after making eye contact with this guy.

"We came into the wrong building. Honest mistake. Sorry," she cut across what she was sure was going to be a real zinger from Alexis. Red bandanna guy stared at her for a beat, then huffed.

"Where do you need to go?" he asked gruffly. Shay blinked, surprised by his complacency.

"Um, not sure of the building number or anything... We're looking for her agency."

"Oh, the modeling place? Yeah, it's across the street," the other male replied, much less intimidating now as he came around to stand next to the other. Despite seeming close in age, Shay could tell that he was older perhaps by a few years. The one with the bandanna, however... his aura pulsed and vibrated with something Shay had never felt before. The gooseflesh persisted, and she was thankful for her jacket.

"Right. Thanks, I guess. Come on, Shay," Alexis snapped, turning on her heel and heading for the door. The tanned one smirked a bit, watching her leave with an amused expression. Shay cast one more glance at the guy with the red bandanna before following after Alexis, her heart pounding. Santa Carla was going to be rough on her, that's for sure. As they crossed the street and found Alexis's agency, Shay paused at the inside of the doorway for a breather, to gather herself. All these energies swirling around were a lot to take in at once, and she would need to find the closest supplier of herbal tea blends in order to calm herself every night. Maybe she'd recharge her crystals while she was at it.

"Shay, I'm gonna be in this room with Pam, okay? Come on in whenever," Alexis called out to her before heading into one of the doors down the hallway. Shay took the crystal pendant around her neck in her hand, muttering a small calming spell as she twisted it between her fingers. Why was her heart still racing? Forcing herself to take in her surroundings a bit, she darted into the bathroom and used spatial orientation to find her north and center. Holding the crystal in her hand, Shay rummaged around in her bag and found a small pouch which contained a few essentials in case she might need them, including a small white spell candle. Placing it on the counter in front of her, she waved her hand over it and lit it, keeping the crystal warm in her other hand. Those keen brown eyes kept floating unbidden into her mind, and her arms erupted into goosebumps again. Get it together, Shay! She began to murmur a soft chant.

"_The Light of protection I carry is strong;_

_No ill wishes, or trouble can come along._

_You cannot harm me, or weaken my soul,_

_My light is my weapon and peace is my goal._"

Shay repeated this chant three times, ending her spell with "So mote it be." Opening her eyes, she stared into her own reflection in the mirror. Shay felt herself very unremarkable, though her friends had often told her she was quite pretty in her own way. An oval face framed by warm brown straight hair, sunkissed by some faded blonde highlights; worried green eyes with a smattering of freckles across a nose she felt was too large and 'witchy' at times for her own liking. Her lips were plump, and she had a decent complexion, though much too pale for sunny California. Shay was jealous of Liz and her beautiful caramel-cocoa skin at times, since her own pallor reminded her of a corpse. Fitting for a witch, she supposed.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she let the crystal pendant fall back against her clothes and extinguished the candle. She meandered back over to the hallway, sticking her head into the room where Alexis sat poring over contracts with her agent.

"Almost done, Shay, just gotta check over this last one..." she mumbled, and Shay waved her hand.

"No rush, take your time. We can get lunch after you're through or something." Her stomach whined in protest at that very moment, and Alexis let out a small laugh. She nodded over a few more pages with Pam, and then signed her name with a flourish across the final paper and pushed it over to the agent. Standing up, she pulled her overlarge sunglasses over her eyes before strutting over to Shay.

"Let's go visit Liz at work, shall we?"

They headed back towards the boardwalk, as the diner was on the main strip facing the ocean. They passed a few groups of excitable teens still on winter break, some who seemed to recognize Alexis but were too intimidated to approach. Finally arriving at the diner, they pushed the door open and immediately spotted Liz seated at one of the barstools talking with another girl in a server's uniform. She noticed them and waved, but stayed focused in her conversation. Shay led Alexis towards an open booth and they slid in, facing each other. A few moments later, Liz and the other server (whose name-tag read Janet) approached and Liz slid into the booth next to Alexis as Janet handed them menus.

"Decided to finally join the world of the living, Shay?" Liz joked, and Shay made a face at her.

"Listen, we had a rough night, and I drove all day. Cut a girl some slack!" she cut back, and Liz burst into laughter.

"I'm teasing, girl, I know! My treat for lunch then, I suggest the All-American burger or the Pancake combo from what I've tried..." Liz began to point out options from the menu as Alexis squinted at it looking for vegetarian options. The door to the diner opened with a jingle of the bell, and Shay paid it no mind as she salivated over the thought of a pile of fluffy pancakes and crispy bacon. She felt a presence tingling at her left, however, and before she could look up, a gruff voice spoke at the end of the table.

"Room for two more?"

* * *

So far this is all I've got, I'll try to post two more chapters tomorrow if I can get them written out~ please leave comments and encouragement since this fandom is pretty niche, so anything is going to be super helpful ;_;


	3. The High Priestess

Sorry this one took longer than I wanted to get out, but I'm already working on the next ones to make up for it!

Please leave me some comments as they encourage me to write more and inspire me! :D

* * *

**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 3**

_I see the light and the heat in your eyes_

_Oh, I want to be that complete_

_I want to touch the light,_

_The heat I see in your eyes_

_\- 'In Your Eyes', Peter Gabriel_

Shay stared in disbelief up at the two guys from the comic book store; they stared right back, the darker-haired one wearing a smirk and the one with the bandanna looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Yet he was the one that had spoken, Shay was sure of it. He had a very distinct voice... which was speaking again, and directed at her.

"Well?" he asked, looking impatient. Shay gaped at him.

"Do you... know these guys?" Liz cut in, sparing her for a moment. The dark haired one, as if noticing her for the first time, zeroed in on her and flashed a surprisingly charming grin.

"We met earlier. Name's Alan, my brother and I run the comic shop down the road." So they were brothers, Shay thought, scrutinizing them a bit closer and noticing things that seemed to confirm this. They had the same eyes, of course, and their noses were similar. Plus, Shay had the added bonus of being able to sense further than regular humans; she could tell their bond was extremely strong, familial. Liz shook the one called Alan's hand, returning his smile and motioning to the table.

"I'm Liz. I guess feel free to pull up a chair..." she trailed off, but Alan was already way ahead of her. He dragged one of the diner's chairs towards the end of the table and slid into it, body angled towards Liz which spoke volumes as far as Shay was concerned. His brother hadn't budged.

"Hey, sit down already, ya weirdo!" Alan elbowed him in the gut, causing him to buckle a bit and tumble into the booth right next to Shay. Her breath caught a bit at the rush, but she kept her cool as she glanced across at Alexis who she could tell was having a hard time believing what was going on.

"Um, not to be rude, but..." the blonde began, but Alan cut her off.

"Yet it feels like you're going to be a bitch anyway," he quipped, grinning at her. Liz snorted, but then gave Alexis an apologetic look in truce. Alexis looked like she was about to combust.

"Hm, well. Not like you were invited to our lunch or anything, so why the hell are you here? Stalking us much? Not like we need any more of last night, thanks," she complained in a scathing tone, and probably would have gone on if not for being interrupted again.

"What happened last night?" Alan's brother had sat up ramrod straight, leaning forward a bit so that one of his hands gripped the edge of the table rather tightly. Alexis blinked, startled.

"Uh... not that it's any of your business, but Shay and I were attacked in an alley last night. I'm sure it happens five times a day in this shithole town," she snapped, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest.

"Who? Who attacked you?" the guy was persistent, his voice sounding a bit more urgent. Shay could feel the anxiety rolling off him in waves, which was unsettling in of itself. Normally she didn't pick up on people's emotions as easily as she was this guy's... Her empathic abilities were developed, sure, but usually she needed to be in physical contact with the person she wanted to read in order to get the levels she was currently.

"Some scruffy looking creeps, druggies I guess," she replied, wrinkling her nose; he seemed to relax a bit. "Then some other punk looking guys scared them off. I think they were looking for a fight or something, we heard screaming after we got away. Must be a regular day in Santa Carla," she continued, scoffing, and Shay felt the guy's anxiety levels spike even further at that statement. She tried to regulate her breathing, to shut his emotions out of her head, but it wasn't working.

"Why are you so worried about it anyway?" she found herself snapping at him. He turned those deep brown eyes onto her, and she found herself reaching up subconsciously to grip her pendant in hopes of absorbing some protective energy. Her headache lessened a bit, but only just.

"My brother, the drama queen. Trying to impress the ladies with chivalry, eh?" Alan cut in, and their eye contact was broken.

"Your brother has a name, I'm sure?" Liz asked, also picking up on the weird tension in some ways and attempting to lessen it.

"Edgar," he said after a short pause, reaching out his hand after another longer pause (which was prefaced with a soft thud from under the table, meaning Alan had kicked him). Liz and Alexis shook his hand, and then he turned to Shay. To shake his proffered hand she had to let go of her pendant, which sucked, but she braced herself as best as she could. She was unprepared.

o.o.o.o.o

Edgar was trying his hardest to do things Alan's way this time, which was what he called the 'subtle' approach. Edgar called it beating around the bush. He had wanted to tell those girls the second they had come into the shop what lurked here in Santa Carla, warn them that their lifespan was going to be limited... looking as good as they did, they'd attract way too much attention, especially in the slow months of winter. The bloodsuckers would be feasting on them by that night, guaranteed. Alan, however, had convinced him to try something less direct for once, since they were girls and hated being told what to do by men. Edgar was pretty sure he had a point, though he didn't understand how it would help save their lives if that point didn't get expressed in the next few hours.

So it was for that reason they found themselves sitting at a booth at the diner with not two, but three attractive female newcomers to the town with the highest murder rate in the country. Why on Earth they had moved here, Edgar hadn't the foggiest. He sincerely hoped they'd take him seriously and get the hell out as soon as possible, but it never was that easy. Upon hearing from the blonde one that they had been attacked the previous night, his senses went on high alert; he relaxed when she described some local junkie assholes as the culprits, but his fears resurfaced tenfold upon what she told them next. Sounded like the vamps, that much he was certain of. If the shitsuckers already had their scent... Well, they'd have to speed things up.

He reached his hand out to the one he was sitting next to, Shay? He thought her name might be Shay. She seemed the most tense for some reason, but she slowly lifted her own hand to shake his. Their hands touched, and an electric current pulsed through him. Heat seared through his palm where her hand met his, and he let out a small huff of surprise. She gasped, a soft intake of breath that would have been missed had he not been feeling the same things in that moment. His eyes darted to hers, and he nearly recoiled as he saw the shock mirrored in her green eyes... her pupils seemed to dilate fully, rapidly expanding across her entire iris, as their joined hands heated to an almost unpleasant temperature... he blinked, and it was all gone. They let go quickly, and no one at their table had seemed to notice anything. She looked normal enough, her green eyes still worried and mistrustful; had he imagined it? He must have.

Shaking his head, he turned back to the table to notice that their waitress had arrived to take their orders. He ordered quickly without really thinking about it. Alan was shamelessly flirting with the girl called Liz, while the blonde one Alexis was glaring at them as if it would make them stop. She really didn't seem to like Alan. Edgar glanced out of the corner of his eye towards Shay; she was sneaking a glance at him, too. _Caught, damn_.

"So, what brings you to Santa Carla?" he found himself asking. She raised her eyebrows at him, as if shocked he was speaking to her, but answered anyway.

"Someone's gotta look out for these two losers." A sense of humor, huh? This girl wasn't what he expected.

"Listen here, girlie..." Alexis began, but she had a smile on her face despite the tone.

"Lex here is rich and her parents bought us a place so we could be roommates while we pursue careers and all that shit," Liz cut in, grinning at her friend.

"And you chose _here_? Not that I'm complaining," Alan's flirting really was over the top.

"Yes, here. It's not so bad, as long as you stay indoors at night," Liz retorted, a small frown on her lips after that last bit. Edgar jumped at the chance.

"Exactly right. This city is really fucking unsafe at night; you two already had a taste of it, from what you said before," he nodded at Shay and Alexis, who flinched a bit as if remembering it in live time. "Way worse comes out at night than that in these parts."

He hoped his words were scaring them enough. Liz looked like she was in between laughing at him or scoffing, while Alexis had an expression of defiance in place trying to mask the fear in her eyes. He turned to look at Shay... and found her looking pensive. As if she might believe him. Their food arrived before anyone could speak again, and they all dug in silently. After they had eaten, Alexis snatched the check from the waitress and slipped a fancy looking credit card into her hands.

"You guys are weird. Annoying. But you've been relatively welcoming... I guess. So my treat." Alexis flipped her hair over her shoulder and Edgar figured that was going to be the extent of the olive branch she was offering them. Alan had similar vibes, he guessed, since he grinned at her in thanks. Edgar thought now would be a good time to attempt to figure out a bit about where they lived, in order to help monitor the place.

"As a thank you, we can walk you ladies home since we just talked about how dangerous this city can get," he proposed smoothly. Liz snorted.

"Uh, it's like barely 3 PM. We wanted to check out the boardwalk a bit, I think," she glanced over at her two friends, who also looked a bit weirded out by his suggestion of them going home already. Alan stepped in, flirting even more shamelessly.

"He meant later, since we'd love to come show you around the place! We are locals after all, what do ya think?" he said, looking mainly at Liz during this proposal. She laughed lightly and gave him a playful smack on the arm.

"I'm down, how about it girls?"

"Don't you have to, uh, work or something?" Shay finally spoke up, breaking the silence she had maintained for most of the lunch. Edgar kept his face impassive; she was right, of course, but keeping the murder rate down in Santa Carla was also their job, so to speak.

"Our parents have the shop under control. We're good," he replied, lying though his teeth. Their parents were as useless as always, but at least they had locked up behind them as they rushed over to the diner. Shay frowned a bit, but seemed to resign herself.

"Alright. Let's go then," she stated, motioning for him to get up. He couldn't help but smirk at her a bit, taking a while longer than usual to get up and out of the booth. She huffed at him impatiently, but eventually they all made it up and out of the diner into the chilly streets.

"Over there is where they set up the summer carnival," Alan pointed out as they strolled along the boardwalk. In its absence, there were still numerous attractions. The roller coasters and ferris wheel were still there, though they ran less than half the time due to weather conditions. All of the vendor booths and carnival games were set up to still take customers, but they only opened on the weekends. A chilly gust of wind ran through them, and Edgar noted Liz link arms with Alan as they continued their little tour. Alexis ambled on the other side of Liz, making snarky comments at the scenery and towards Alan every time he tried to say something funny.

Edgar and Shay walked side by side in silence behind the trio, feeling as if there was a thick curtain of tension separating the two of them. Her arms wrapped around her, she seemed like a live wire ready to spring into action at the slightest touch. He guessed getting a scare like last night's would do that to any girl... though Shay gave him the impression that she could normally take care of herself.

"You like roller coasters?" he found himself blurting out, cursing his awkwardness. She turned her wide green eyes onto him, once again looking shocked that he was speaking to her.

"Actually, yeah. I love thrill rides. The ones with the loops and stuff, what about you?" she replied with a small smile. Edgar's breath caught; she was actually really pretty. Alexis's model-like presence was hard to look past, but Shay was naturally beautiful. His type. Shit. He realized she had asked him a question, and cursed himself again.

"Sorry, yeah. I love them too. Kinda wimp out at times with the really big ones but I'll still get on them. Scream like a bitch, but I'll do it," he found himself saying, and she laughed lightly. He realized he wanted to make her laugh again. "Alan is the bigger wuss. He won't get on unless there's something in it for him, and even then he freaks out and thinks the end is coming for him," he didn't even remotely feel bad for throwing Alan under the bus as Shay laughed a bit harder, her smile brightening her features and causing Edgar's heart to clench a bit. Oh, he was _so_ screwed.

"I bet that's a sight to see. Liz and Lex are both adrenaline junkies, so they'd drag him on kicking and screaming I think." She looked at her two friends fondly, and Edgar could tell that his work was going to be cut out for him if he wanted to help these people, let alone get closer to Shay.

"Maybe we can come out here together sometime. It's not so bad if you have someone with you," he found himself asking. She looked at him, eyebrows knitting for a second before she seemed to light up a bit with a dazzling smile.

"Sounds fun. I'm counting on it," she said, and Edgar hadn't realized he'd been holding a lot of hope on her answer. Internally relieved, he noticed that Alan and the girls had stopped up ahead at a small street vendor's cart, buying cups of hot chocolate. Edgar sidled up to his brother and ordered two more, not missing the sly grin his brother directed at him. He chose to ignore it, though he was pretty sure the tips of his ears had turned a bit red. He walked back over to Shay and handed her the drink, enjoying the flush of surprise that colored her cheeks as she took it from him.

They walked a bit more, stopping to marvel at the little pop-up shops along the beach and gush over a few people's dogs and the like. Seeing these dogs, Edgar thought of Nanook for a moment and felt his face harden a bit. He wondered if Sam still even took care of him, now that he was a bloodsucker. At the end of the way, the boardwalk stage was still set up for concerts and a small crowd had gathered around as a band was playing. It was some lively pop-rock group, dressed in vibrant colors and messing with all sorts of synths and Edgar rolled his eyes a bit.

"This is great!" Liz called out, moving along with the beat and dragging Alexis and Shay into the crowd. Edgar and Alan followed, the latter catching up with Liz and bowing comically in front of her.

"May I have this dance?" he grinned, and she laughed in delight as they began to dance and sway with the music. Alexis rolled her eyes but seemed to be enjoying the band, bobbing her head and watching the musicians intently. Shay looked slightly out of place, but her eyes met Edgar's and she seemed to relax a bit. He walked over to her, standing between her and some rowdy twenty-somethings who were wriggling around like worms.

"Not really my type of music, but I don't hate it either," she said, and Edgar smirked.

"I do. Give me David Bowie any day," he retorted, and she laughed that fantastic laugh again.

"You're a Bowie fan? Never would have guessed. Good taste, though, so I can't complain."

She suddenly lurched forward, as if pushed, and Edgar reacted on instinct reaching out to catch her in his arms as she fell towards him. He steadied her, glaring at the guy who had knocked into her as he helped her right herself.

"Concerts, you gotta love 'em," he grumbled, trying his best to distract himself from the feeling of her in his arms. She smelled good, like vanilla and apple spice, and something earthy that reminded him of fall. Her small hands were gripping onto his arms, green eyes wide, with a vibrant flush coloring her cheeks. Neither of them seemed to want to let go, but eventually he pulled away and cleared his throat.

"Thanks," she spoke softly. She turned away to check the stage, and Edgar noticed that the band seemed to have finished and another was coming on. These guys were a bit more classic rock, which he could appreciate. He and Shay stood close to each other, moving slightly in time with the music, just appreciating the sound and vibes they were listening to. After a few songs, the stage lights seemed to brighten a bit and the soft pink glow of the sun gave a cool luminance to the performance. Alan and Liz were very comfortable by the looks of it, and Edgar snorted at the look of disgust on Alexis's face. Shay had noticed too, and they laughed about it together. He was actually having a decent time with these people... but it hit him suddenly just what he was out here doing, what his mission was.

Cursing himself for being stupid, he noticed that sunset was already passing and rapidly. Placing a hand on her arm, he began to slowly steer Shay closer to her friends and his brother. He tried to keep his cool, as not to alarm Shay, but she seemed to pick up on his tension more quickly than he expected. Her brows furrowed as she looked at him, questioning.

"What's wrong?" she asked, still allowing him to lead her but looking worried.

"Sunset," he said curtly, reaching his brother and elbowing him in the ribs. Alan yelped, but after Edgar made a subtle gesture to the sky with his eyes, Alan cursed under his breath.

"Time to go," he grimaced, and Shay looked even more worried than before.

"What's the problem? Why are you in such a hurry to leave all of a sudden?" she hissed at Edgar, but his blood had run cold as the sun sank beneath the horizon.

"You'll thank me later, I promise. We just need to get you girls home before all the unsavory shit starts to come out," he replied, hoping that Alan was doing a better job at convincing the others to leave.

"Just be straight up with me, what are you trying to accomplish here Edgar?" she said, looking angry now, her arms folded across her chest. His nostrils flared a bit in frustration, but he hoped he could get them to a less dangerous area and then explain. It was too easy for them to get snatched up in these crowds.

"Listen, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. It sounds crazy. I just don't want you getting hurt," he said under his breath, hoping it was enough.

"You've barely met me today, what's the big deal?" she countered, though there was a slight pink on her cheeks again. Alan seemed to have managed with Liz and Alexis, as they were headed back towards the main way of the boardwalk.

"You've already been attacked once last night, they'll come back and won't let you go so easily," he replied urgently, now trying to steer her after them.

"Who? Those potheads?" she asked, thankfully still allowing him to drag her away from the stage.

"No, not them, the-" his heart seemed to stop fully as he heard the roar of motorbikes and loud screeching yelps of laughter. He turned to see them, all of them, pulling up and leaping off of their bikes at the edge of the boardwalk. His fear and anger must have been palpable, because Shay seemed to flinch as she looked at them.

"Vampires," she whispered, almost inaudibly, and Edgar's initial surprise was overcome by the desire to grab her hand and run.


	4. The Empress

Doing my best to keep it up with getting these chapters out, but I worry about pacing if I rush them! So please bear with me and I will do my best :D

* * *

**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 4**

_How can it be permissible_

_She compromise my principle,_

_That kind of love is mythical_

_She's anything but typical_

_\- 'Simply Irresistible', Robert Palmer_

Dwayne was doing a very poor job in keeping his search for the pretty blonde girl low-key. The second he had pulled up to the boardwalk, he was off his bike and had it parked in record time. The only one who seemed to really notice his hurry was David, of course, but that was enough. He smirked at Dwayne, shaking his head a little but not seeming to care much beyond that. Dwayne himself was pretty unsure of the feelings rushing through his undead mind, but there was an innate sense of rush, of harrowing desire to lay his eyes upon that girl once more that maddened him.

"Concert's got a pretty big crowd in tonight," Marko called out to the group, who all seemed to sense something in the air that evening: the thrill of the hunt, singing through their veins as there were finally enough people in town for a decent meal. Coupled with the fact that they had fed the night before, it felt just like things should be, back to their usual routine.

"Can't get carried away," David warned, but the spark was visible in his eyes too. "Three or four tops. Stragglers, you know the drill," he gave them their orders, and with that they split into their various groups or went about their business alone, whooping and hollering as they joined the crowd at the stage. Dwayne's antsy behavior must have triggered something in Paul, as he lagged behind next to his friend, twitching a bit more than usual.

"Can't wait for summer, but man this feels good too," he quipped, flashing his signature grin at a couple of dancing girls who giggled at him. Dwayne nodded absently, reaching out with his senses on high alert. He hoped the girl was here, something desperate clawed at him wanting to even simply lay eyes on her again... and yet, part of him (a part he didn't recognize) wished for her to be tucked away safely at home, far away from his bloodthirsty brothers.

He and Paul weaved through the crowds of dancing bodies, the singing of their blood normally an intense call but strangely muted for Dwayne that evening. He paused momentarily to watch with a bit of disgust as Sam and Marko danced all over each other, making out furiously as several females watched on sighing and fanning themselves. It was a technique that seemed to work wonders, as David was able to approach them easily and flirt shamelessly without their alarm bells going off, so distracted by the attractive show going on in front of them. David certainly wasted no time, though Dwayne could see his heart wasn't in it. Michael and Star had stayed at home that evening, and it pained David greatly though he hid it well. Dwayne turned away from his brothers and pushed further through the crowd with Paul, passing by groups of drunk dancers without much care.

"Oh, it's you."

Dwayne felt a shock ripple through his limbs at the sound of her voice. His dark eyes fell on her, with her arms crossed and head tilted to the side ever so slightly as she looked at him. Her sweet scent rushed over him and he had to dig his nails into his palms to keep himself in check.

"And who's this pretty babe?" Paul cut across him, sidling up to the girl with his charm dialed up to a hundred. Dwayne felt a low growl threaten to escape from the back of his throat as Paul moved to drape an arm around her, but the girl was quick and stepped to the side.

"Not talking to you, that's for sure. Dwayne, wasn't it?" she spared Paul not even a glance as she fixed her sharp gaze upon Dwayne's face, eyebrows knitted together in a way that did not dampen her beauty.

"You've got a good memory," he replied, allowing himself a small smile. "Though I don't think I got your name last night, which is a shame." She huffed, a small laugh that sent more of her dazzling scent into his wake. God, she was going to be hard to resist.

"Well, considering the circumstances, I didn't feel like sticking around for a proper meet and greet," she snarked, but her eyes were smiling. "I'm Alexis. Thanks for uh, everything I guess," she finished, chewing on her lower lip a bit and uncrossing her arms to reach out a dainty hand. Dwayne smirked full-on, and took her warm small hand in his own.

"Here's a dangerous place for a beautiful woman, you know. Shouldn't be out here with so many monsters roaming the streets," he replied, not letting go of her proffered hand. She raised a perfectly-groomed brow, as if in challenge.

"Dunno about you, Dwayne-o, but I'm no monster," Paul had reminded them of his presence by draping an arm across Alexis's shoulders and grinning at her. Before realizing what he was doing, he had shoved Paul off of her and pulled her under his own arm, his voice a deep growl as he spoke.

"Hands off," he threatened, his eyes flashing dangerously at his brother. Paul looked a bit put out, but shook it off and held his hands up in defeat.

"Fine, man, she's yours! I'll find someone more appreciative of my charms," he pouted, ducking around some dancing couples and losing himself in the crowd. Dwayne relaxed almost immediately, but Alexis's presence under the crook of his arm was maddening and invading his senses. He looked down at her, hoping he hadn't spooked her; she seemed amused rather than irritated or scared, which was a relief. Dwayne still hadn't decided what these feelings meant, but something was definitely different than his normal possessiveness over a kill.

"Lex, there you are, what the heck is going on over here?" a female voice interrupted his thoughts, pulling his attention towards a girl with wild dark hair and a caramel complexion who seemed to know Alexis. Dwayne's eyes narrowed and his grip tightened around her imperceptibly as he noted the company this newcomer was keeping. It was one of the vampire hunters, the eldest Frog brother. They glared at one another so fiercely that he was surprised the girls hadn't picked up on it.

"Ah, this guy was one of my knights in shining armor last night. Beat up those creeps who tried to assault me and Shay. This is my roommate, Liz," she explained nonchalantly, still seemingly comfortable under Dwayne's arm. He nodded at Liz, whose eyes seemed to soften and she smiled genuinely back at him.

"Oh wow, so you're who I gotta thank for saving my girls! Alan, do you know this guy at all?" she said cheerily, linking her arm under the Frog brother's and pulling him into the conversation. He grimaced, his glare never once dampening as he kept his eyes firmly on Dwayne.

"Unfortunately," he mumbled in response, and before the girls really had an opportunity to question it, reinforcements arrived. The second brother had caught up to them, with the other girl from the alleyway last night in tow. She looked equally as fiercely as the brothers did at the arm Dwayne had draped around Alexis, which was a bad sign for him. Perhaps they had already filled her head with anti-vampire propaganda, or was she just wary for her friend? Either way, Dwayne didn't see things going well from here on out.

"Looks like this is my cue to get lost," he said softly, unwrapping himself from Alexis, though still holding onto her hand for a beat longer. "If you want to have some real fun sometime, without these losers..." he squeezed her hand and flashed her a dazzling grin that rarely surfaced. "Come to the video store. Ask for Dwayne. Someone will hook you up," he winked at her and dropped her hand, turning away with a last lingering look at her beautiful features before losing himself in the crowd. He'd need to tear into something with extra vigor to calm the messed up emotions he was dealing with that night.

o.o.o.o.o

Shay's senses were on high alert during the entire interaction she and her friends had with the vampire who had made himself comfortable around Alexis. The pieces had clicked into place as she had sensed what felt like their entire coven park their bikes at the boardwalk and spill into the crowd of concert-goers smoothly, their feelers out with hints of bloodlust for that night's hunt. She was kicking herself for not noticing sooner, but her horror at seeing Alexis walk straight up to one from afar took over and she allowed Edgar to drag her over to his brother and Liz who had gotten distracted by what looked like two guys making out surrounded by a crowd of giggling females. With a jolt, Shay recognized the blonde mulleted guy from last night as he sidled up to one of the girls in the crowd, and waves of nausea crashed over her as she sensed his desire to tear into the innocent woman in front of him.

"We... need to get out of here," she gasped, and Edgar's grip on her hand tightened to the point of pain. He reached Alan and Liz; he muttered something to his brother and they turned to notice that Liz has wandered off in those few moments towards where Alexis and the dark-haired vampire (Dwayne?) were standing.

"Shit," Alan hissed, pushing his way after her. Shay's anxiety was peaking as she spotted another obvious vampire with a crazy blonde head of hair approaching a couple dancing in the vicinity. Before she had a chance to truly panic, Edgar's arms were around her and his hand on the back of her head, pulling her close in order to speak in low tones without causing alarm.

"Shay, listen to me. We need to all go together. The more of us against the one of him might scare him off. Then we hightail it out of here, there's too many of them total for us to get out of this otherwise," Edgar whispered in his gruff voice. His closeness and physical contact alone sent a wave of emotions that Shay was unable to process then and there, but her fear for Alexis and Liz pushed past them and she nodded her head into his chest.

"You owe me an explanation," she hissed, eyes coming up to meet his and he huffed at her, arm tightening around her waist before letting her go.

"Could say the same for you," he muttered, grabbing her hand and dragging her after his brother. With that new set of fears bubbling under everything else, Shay hoped she'd be able to figure out a smooth way of concealing her identity as a witch from him after they got out of this... if they got out.

As Edgar predicted, the vampire seemed to sense he was outnumbered and he removed himself from Alexis (but not before shamelessly attempting to set up a future encounter... something told Shay she'd have her work cut out for her in discouraging her stubborn friend from following up with him). Without further ado, Shay and the brothers pushed Liz and Alexis out of the crowds and back onto the boardwalk.

"That's enough excitement for tonight, don't you think?" Alan said smoothly, keeping them on the well lit streets as best as he could while walking them back towards the townhome. Shay had shakily told him the address a few moments prior, hoping that since he and his brother were locals they'd be able to guide them with less effort in order to leave her to her thoughts for a bit. Edgar walked in stony silence beside her, but quite clearly with his senses on alert. One hand was deep in his jacket pocket, and Shay noted that Alan was in a similar position. The one hand that wasn't being used to link arms with Liz had been shoved into his cargo pants pocket, casually enough to seem normal and not as though he'd been gripping something (a stake perhaps?). Alexis too was thoughtfully quiet as she walked, arms crossed and brow furrowed. Liz made light chatter here and there, and it was a mark on how intelligent Alan really was that he was able to keep up with it and respond accordingly while guiding them home.

They reached their front door without any disturbance, but Shay couldn't relax. Alexis unlocked it and ambled inside without a word, still pensive. Liz and Alan seemed to be reluctant to part, standing on the steps leading up to the house chatting. Edgar kept looking at the streets, his mind clearly back at the boardwalk. Shay found herself speaking before she really had coherently processed what she was doing.

"Will you take me to the store?" she asked him, loudly enough for Alan and Liz to pick up her words. Edgar looked at her sharply, questioningly. "I need some herbal tea. Can't really get to sleep properly without it. Sorry to bug you, I just... forgot to grab some like I meant to earlier," she lied smoothly, willing her true meaning into her eyes as she looked at him. They needed to talk. He scrutinized her for a moment, before nodding curtly.

"Alan, stay here until we get back. We can head back together later," Edgar's words were gruff as usual, but he was already reaching out to grab Shay's hand and pull her towards the street.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Alan said with a grin, looping an arm around Liz's shoulders as she led him inside with a small laugh. "Be good you two!" he called out with a wave over his shoulder. Edgar snorted, but continued to walk with his hand gripping Shay's as he pulled her forward towards town.

"Smooth move," he finally said after a few minutes of walking. Shay inhaled deeply, biting the inside of her cheek softly as she debated on a response.

"I figured we should talk a bit." Understatement, sure, but true nevertheless. Edgar stopped abruptly, turning to stare at her with scrutiny in those warm brown eyes. It was so sudden and intense that Shay's stomach dipped.

"How'd you know? What they were," he clarified, searching her face so fiercely that she felt incredibly vulnerable and shivered in response. He instinctively placed his other hand on her arm, gripping her tightly enough that it didn't hurt but enough to cause her breath to stutter.

"I- I could tell what they were, it's like a gut feeling I guess? I came across some in my old hometown once before. They had the same... energy, I guess. A pack of guys that seem timeless, beautiful, and deadly. Hard to explain... sorry, I know it sounds corny," she finished lamely, her heart pounding quickly in her chest as she hated having to conceal the truth from him for some reason. He stared at her for a beat, but finally seemed to relax ever so slightly.

"Look, I know we just met, but I've been hunting these bastards for years now. They love going for girls as a rule, but it's a bonus that you guys don't have family or other friends living here that would miss you. Honestly, they don't really care one way or another, they're monsters. But I just..." he paused, and the hand on her arm came up to hover near her cheek. "I don't want you to get hurt, or worse," his voice was inaudible, but Shay found herself leaning into his warm palm and closing her eyes. His energy was so alluring, she couldn't resist its pull on her.

"Thanks, Edgar," she whispered, and for a few moments in that whirlwind of a night, all was well.

o.o.o.o.o

David could sense something was off in Dwayne, mostly due to how distracted and distant the dark-haired vampire was behaving. Enough was enough, he said to himself, and he clapped a gloved hand on Dwayne's shoulder to steer him out of the crowd. The giggling brunette he had chatted up earlier was tucked under his other arm, seemingly turned on by the idea he was presenting her by dragging Dwayne along with them. Her flushed cheeks and quickened heartbeat told him everything he needed to know.

"This is my friend Dwayne, you mind if he joins us?" he said smoothly, and the girl bit her lip.

"Not at all," she breathed, and despite Dwayne's eye-roll he trudged after them away from the hubbub of the concert.

It took him only a few moments to hop over the low concrete barrier to the beach, and he pulled the girl along with him towards the sand and surf. The one good thing about winter was how few people populated the beach this time of year, so they walked merely a few feet before the dark swallowed them from view of any prying eyes. He turned on the girl and pushed her to the ground, knocking the breath out of her. She seemed to think he was simply being rough for now, as she let out a whimper of pleasure.

Dwayne sidled up behind them and smoothly settled in behind her, allowing David to take the front. They sat on the sand, the girl crawling into his lap and wrapping her legs around him as Dwayne pushed himself up onto his knees behind her, absently caressing her sides. David could tell his heart wasn't in it, but perhaps a little scent of blood would change that.

He locked his lips along her neck, sucking hard as she moaned softly. Pushing aside her hair, he felt his vampiric form release as he sank his fangs into her soft flesh. She barely had time to scream before Dwayne's hand had covered her lips, muffling any sound. He too latched on to the other side of her neck, tearing into her much more viciously than David had.

Her thrashing about in his lap as the life was drained from her shot arousal through him, and he wished for Michael to have been there to share in this with him. How he longed to run his tongue over Michael's strong jawline as he did this pathetic human's; he wanted to sink his teeth into Michael's neck and drain him. Nothing would come of it, of course, but it was a highly sensual experience for vampire mates according to lore and David ached to be able to partake in it.

The girl finally stilled and David pulled the last dregs from her veins, detaching himself from her neck and flinging her to the side. Dwayne was already standing, wiping away a trickle of blood from his face.

"Sooner or later you'll have to tell me," David said smoothly, tugging at the girl's head and detaching it from her shoulders with a sick wet crunch. He tossed it a few feet away into the surf, pleased with how easy the cleanup for this one was. None would be able to tell that she had been drained, nor would they see the injuries with her decapitated. He began to drag her body towards the ocean, turning to look back at his friend. "Better me than Max, at least."

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," Dwayne grimaced, knowing full well that David was right by the look on his face. Whatever was bugging him would eventually need to come out. "All I know is that I want that girl. She's mine, no one else can touch her," he said in a dangerous tone. David laughed, heaving their prey's limp form into the waves.

"This is about the bitch from last night? Fine, fine. I know what it's like to get stuck on a scent. You can have her. Go nuts." He surveyed Dwayne's face, noting the absence of relief on his features as he had expected there to be. "Unless... there's more to it?" he asked, a smirk toying at the corner of his lips.

Dwayne's face told him there was.


	5. The Emperor

Wowie, I updated! Since it's been a good minute since my last one, this chapter's a bit longer as a result!

We get a lot of Shay x Edgar in this one, but our other couples will begin to get more featured next chapter, I promise! There's a lot of setup I need to get through with everyone, so bear with me...

Also I met Corey Feldman in person recently and we talked bunches about Edgar, so I needed to showcase my boy as I'm still a bit starstruck~

* * *

**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 5**

_Just try to see in the dark, just try to make it work_

_To feel the fear before you're here_

_I make the shapes come much too close, pull my eyes out_

_Hold my breath and wait until I shake_

_\- 'Close to Me', The Cure_

Shay was grateful for the next week, as much as she could be at least. She finished setting up her bedroom, and managed to consecrate and ward the entirety of the house within a day's work as Liz and Alexis both had to work. Her own job at the small coffee shop on the boardwalk wouldn't begin until the following Tuesday, giving her plenty of time to rally herself and figure out her next moves.

Alexis had a couple of modeling shoots out of town that week, and would be in L.A. working until Sunday, which made Shay breathe easier. One less friend to worry about for now... though in truth, Alexis was the more worrisome of her two roommates, since she had seemed so utterly drawn to the vampire Dwayne. That was concerning, and Shay wondered how far she might need to step in with her craft in order to protect her friend. Liz on the other hand was in much better shape to avoid them, as she and Alan had become quite close.

"Nothing happened, I swear, get your mind out of the gutter!" she had exclaimed upon Shay's return to their apartment after her talk with Edgar. They had come back to a fairly innocent display; Alexis was nowhere in sight, having retreated to her bedroom on the third story of the townhome. Liz was making a drink in the kitchen, while Alan sat comfortably at one of the barstools. Once the brothers had left, Shay had raised her eyebrows at her friend, prompting the vehement reaction she received.

"But you'll be seeing him again." It was a statement, not a question, and Liz seemed to vibrate with excitement at Shay's words.

"Not like you're one to talk, missy. I may have been occupied all night, but you certainly were getting cozy with Edgar," she teased, and Shay couldn't help the pink flush that colored her cheeks.

As she reflected on it, Edgar was still quite an enigma to her. That deep pool of energy within him that called to her so seductively was maddening, and the longer she was away from him it seemed to be getting worse. She simply didn't understand what was going on, and so in response she shut herself in her room most days with her books and grimoires, researching and looking for any sort of explanation. She stubbornly refused to reach out to her mother for help or advice; it had barely been a week since she'd left, and she did not want to appear incompetent or weak.

Her books weren't a complete loss, as they guided her towards some spells that helped her manage the constant energy pull; it was extremely distracting, and Shay had never had to create a spell bag to keep constantly tied around her belt loops, but this necessitated it. It felt like a constant thrumming underneath her skin, as if her veins were singing and murmuring to her with untapped power that ached release... and only Edgar's presence would cure her of it. Shay buried these feelings and locked them away, scared and unhappy at not understanding what was happening to her, but grateful that the spell bag she had crafted was lessening the feeling to a dull buzzing rather than the increasing desperation she was beginning to feel.

What Shay had not expected, however, was that on the 3rd day since her last interaction with him, the dreams came. She had experienced astral projection before, but only on those days when the natural alignment of the planet and stars allowed her easy access to this type of spiritual travel; she dared not try it too much otherwise, as it was easy to get lost in the dreamscape. However, this instance was jarring as one moment she was in a deep sleep, and the next, Edgar was calling her name.

_"Shay believes me, so that's one down at least," he was speaking with his brother, Alan, who was leaning against a doorframe to what seemed to be a bedroom; Edgar's perhaps? Shay looked down, and her own form shimmered with a silvery sheen, as she had come to recognize of her astral self. She floated hazily from a spot a bit to Edgar's right, and he was sitting upon a twin-sized bed, kicking his shoes off and shrugging out of his green coat._

_"Well, I'm going to start working on Liz, but as far as I'm concerned, Alexis is already a goner. The bloodsucker set his sights on her, it's only a matter of time," Alan was replying. Edgar huffed at this, but didn't contradict him._

_"If we can save 2 out of three, it's still better than nothing," he mumbled, pulling off his red bandana and running a hand through his sandy hair. Shay felt her heart rate pick up a bit as he did that, and chastised herself immediately for ogling. This was a dream, yes, but it certainly didn't mean she wasn't there; Shay knew better._

_"You gonna go see her tomorrow?" Alan asked, raising his dark eyebrows and grinning at his brother. Edgar glared at him, but didn't answer. "Come on, I know you want to... You haven't been hooked on a girl in a while, you deserve a little bit of- hey!" Edgar had lobbed his pillow at his brother, who ducked out of the doorway, laughing, before opening the door to the room across the hall and shutting it._

_Edgar grumbled, noting that his pillow was now across the room and that Alan had so kindly failed to toss it back to him. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, standing up to grab his pillow and shut his own door. Shay's heart hammered despite being in a dream; she admired his toned form, covered with a handful of scrapes and scars long healed over. He bent to pick up his pillow, then turned to walk back over to his bed, but froze. He locked eyes with her, and despite it being a dream Shay stopped breathing._

_"Shay?" he breathed, taking a step toward her._

She sat up in bed, covered in a cold sweat, heart pounding furiously in her chest. Shakily, she reached over and clicked on her bedside lamp, muttering a quiet apology to Jareth as he squinted in the light and meowed grumpily. She pulled the covers off and slid automatically towards he altar, which was bathed in moonlight. As if in a trance, she began a ritual; it began to calm her racing nerves, and she pulled out her own grimoire, flipping it to the ingredients list for a spell bag for dream protection.

She was avoiding dealing with the main issue at hand, she knew that deep down, but she was honestly too spooked by how much of a hurricane of supernatural activity she had inadvertently stepped into upon moving to Santa Carla. Edgar did not seem anything but human, however, and so her worries as to what on earth was going on with these energies attempted to bubble to the surface and suffocate her; she buried them deeply and finished her spell, placing the dream protection charm bag under her pillow and extinguishing her candles.

She needed some tea, now, to set herself back into a dreamless sleep (perhaps with a pinch of some personal blended herbs to make it really potent) and so she padded softly downstairs and began heating the water to boil. It was in the middle of this process that she heard a soft knock on the front door, and she froze. Did she imagine it?

_Knock, knock, knock._

No, that certainly sounded real enough. Was Alexis home early...? No, she had a key. Shay swallowed the was of anxiety that was starting to bubble up within her and she made her way to the door, checking through the peephole to see who it was.

Edgar stood there, looking disheveled and frantic, wearing the exact same clothes she had seen him don in her dream. Shay's heart picked up again, and despite knowing she shouldn't, that thrum of deep magical energy pulling her towards this man on the other side of the door reached out her hand for her and unlocked the door. Edgar was pushing it open and inside quicker than she had expected, closing it behind him and locking it. He whirled around to face her, then, eyes intense and dark and oh, so enticing. Shay's breath caught as he looked at her.

"Shay you... You're okay? You're not..." he seemed to be stumbling a bit over his words, deep voice full of a concern she didn't immediately understand. He was twisting a silver ring agitatedly around his index finger, fretfully moving in place as if he wanted to begin pacing around the room but thought better of it.

"Uh, yeah... Edgar, I'm fine... What's, what's going on?" she said a bit breathlessly, mesmerized by the sight of him. The energies between them were like a thick fog, tendrils of it reaching to envelop her.

"I thought... I thought I saw... God, I feel stupid, I thought they had..." he was having trouble expressing himself, and Shay realized with a jolt that he might really have seen her astral form (which was impossible, utterly impossible) and he had assumed the worst, and come here to see if she was...

"Hey," she breathed softly, hand reaching out tentatively towards him. "Nothing's happened, I'm right here."

He met her eyes fully, then, and after a beat his hands were on her face and she was pulled close to him, she felt the coolness of his ring against her cheek between the warmth of his hands, their faces drawing together, and the ache Shay had been feeling was both satiated and roaring at his touch, his breath ghosting across her lips...

A door opened loudly from upstairs, and they jumped apart. Shay realized the tea kettle was whistling loudly, screaming a high-pitched whine that must have certainly woken up Liz. She raced towards it and cut the gas, moving it gently towards another burner and silencing its whine.

"Shay, Christ, what time is it? I know you're a night owl, but not everyone is insane like you..." Liz's sleepy and irritated voice grew closer as Shay busied herself with making tea, only turning to face her friend once the tea was steeping.

"Sorry, I got a little lost in thought..." she trailed off, expecting to see Edgar but not finding him. She looked around, bewildered, until she spotted that the front door was unlocked; he must have made his quick getaway unheard, but couldn't lock the door behind him. She couldn't help the wave of disappointment that crashed over her, but she supposed it was for the best.

"Well next time do it at a decent hour, damn..." Liz grumbled, turning around to head back upstairs. Once she heard the click of her friend's door shut, Shay let out a breath, picking up her tea and heading to the counter. Sitting up on one of the barstools, she absentmindedly poured a bit of sugar into the tea and waved her hand over the spoon, causing it to stir gently on its own. She wished she could numb her senses, as the whirlwind of energy pulsating through her being was about to overwhelm her; Edgar's presence, his touch, was like a balm to her, and the fact remained that he was someone she barely knew, to have this effect on her, it was, it was...

Something silver caught her eye. She looked a down, and towards the edge of the countertop sat Edgar's silver ring. It was simple, but with a small cross engraved into the top, braided like a celtic knot. She reached over gingerly and took it, sliding it onto her thumb as it seemed to fit that finger best. Immediately the energies around her stilled, and calmed as she wore it. It was as if the ring was imbued with some of him, and it soothed the inexplicable craving she was feeling, at least for now.

o.o.o.o.o

It was chilly the next day, even for a California December, and Shay realized with a jolt that they were rapidly approaching the new year. She'd start her new job on the 2nd, and her new life in Santa Carla would officially begin. She burrowed under her duvet, relishing in the toasty warmth it offered, thoughts in a daze. She supposed that was in part due to the tea blend she had downed last night, as well as the potent dream charm currently sitting under her pillow... With a start, she sat upright, the previous night's events coming back to her. Her dream, and then he was there, in her house, warm hands and intoxicating presence, she and Edgar had nearly...

With a startled scream, she pulled the warm duvet off of her, tumbling out of bed and immediately running to her bathroom, twisting the shower towards boiling hot and shedding her nightclothes. It was already 4 in the afternoon! She needed to go see him, go talk to him about everything... As she hopped under the stream of warm water, sighing contentedly despite her antsiness, Shay wondered if maybe she shouldn't go see him after all. He had rushed out without a word, right after he was about to... She scrubbed shampoo into her hair furiously, casting these thoughts aside. He had left her his ring, perhaps as an invitation or apology; she wasn't sure, but she certainly was going to find out.

After she had showered and dressed, she spelled her hair dry (sometimes it was more efficient, and she was in a hurry) and grabbed her bag. She had slept in enough to have missed Liz, who had gone to work. Locking the door behind her, she began her brisk walk towards the comic book store. Santa Carla was in full preparation for their New Year's celebration, with a hustle and bustle that Shay had yet to experience in the seaside town. The energies surrounding her were tangibly thrumming with excitement, and she had to take a steadying moment as she walked through crowds of people holding bags of groceries and fireworks.

Finally, she reached the comic book store; she paused at the door, wondering once more if this was a good idea or not. Steeling herself, she pushed it open and was immediately met with Alan's smirking face.

"How's it going?" he asked, looking like the cat that caught the canary. Shay glowered at him, opening her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand. "He's in the back. I think you should surprise him, yeah? Down through that door to the left." He grinned at her again, and she chose to walk past him as dignified as she could manage. In truth, she didn't hold anything against Alan for teasing, but she simply couldn't help worrying about what he might know about last night's events. Surely he'd have heard his brother leaving, as quickly as Edgar had managed to get to her place...

She turned into the back room and suddenly he was there, reaching up to grab a box from shelves which Shay would have needed a stepladder to reach. He caught her movement from his peripherals and spared her a glance, but upon realizing it was her he seemed to do a double take.

"Shay?" he questioned, and suddenly the box was slipping from his hands and he cursed loudly as it fell. He nearly lost his balance but his reflexes were good enough to catch himself; the box wasn't so lucky. Suppressing a grin, Shay made her way fully into the room.

"Nothing important in there I hope?" she quipped, and Edgar huffed out a laugh.

"Some rare editions of Batman, but otherwise no," he replied, bending to pick up the box. He set it on the back room table, then turned to face her with those intense brown eyes. "Why are you here?" he asked, and Shay couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at him.

"Uh, you kinda disappeared last night..." she trailed off lamely, not even really sure herself why she had rushed over here to him first thing. She cursed herself internally, as it probably was whatever that strange pull towards him she was fighting's fault.

"I didn't want to... Well, I had made sure you were fine, and, your roommate..." he stumbled a bit over his words too, but caught her hand in his. "I left this for you, so you didn't think I'd ditched you. Sorry in any case," he said softly, rubbing her thumb which now sported his silver cross ring. Shay's breath shallowed, and she was at a loss for words for a beat.

"Y-yeah, I think I got the memo. I was wanting to... maybe check on you too," she offered, kicking herself at how silly it sounded, but Edgar didn't seem to mind. He took a step closer to her.

"And with that, little bro, I think you two need to get outta here for a bit." Alan had unceremoniously interrupted the moment, leaning against the doorway behind them with a sly smirk on his face. At his voice, Edgar had dropped her hand as though scorched, but he scowled at his older brother ferociously. "I can man the fort for a while, get going," Alan continued, despite the glare boring holes into his skull that Edgar was giving him.

"Come on, Shay," he grumbled, walking past a snickering Alan. She blinked, a bit stunned at the abrupt change in atmosphere, but followed after him. He paused at the end of the hallway to grab a dark green jacket off a hanging hook, and then trod quickly through the comic book store and pushed open the door. He paused, looking to see that Shay was indeed following him, and once she was outside he let the door fall shut behind him. He set off at a brisk pace, and Shay had to work a bit to keep up with his strides.

"Where are we going?" she managed to ask, a bit breathless.

"Park," he answered shortly. Shay followed him, thoughts running a mile a minute.

They arrived after a short while at a quaint little park, a ways inland from the seashore but only about ten minutes from their starting point. There were several trees planted in an organized fashion around the edges, with benches and tables scattered here and there throughout. The setting sun's rays were beginning to peek through the trees, casting the entire thing in a soft orange-pink glow. A small pond towards the centre was lying stagnant in the crisp cool chill, and further down was a dilapidated looking play park. Not many kids seemed to be playing on it, with their parents sitting extremely close and watchful eyes trained on their children at all times. Edgar walked purposefully towards a bench near the edge of the park, and sat down heavily. Shay followed.

"Alan's a bit of an ass, sorry," he said suddenly, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. Shay crossed her arms across her chest, leaning back into the bench.

"You two are pretty different," Shay stated. Edgar barked a laugh, and it gave her goosebumps.

"You can say that again. Though when it comes down to it... we believe in the same things, and it makes us not so different." He huffed and leaned back, too, turning his head slightly to look at her. "You're one of the first I've met that really seems to get what we're up against, and it's weird."

"Is that bad?" she asked, turning towards him and unconsciously biting her lip. She hoped it wasn't. His eyes narrowed, flicking down briefly to her lips, before he exhaled and flashed a startlingly handsome smile her way.

"Nah, I like this weird."

Shay wasn't sure who moved first, but his hands were around her waist pulling her close just as her own had reached up to grip the front of his shirt, and their lips were crashing together in one of the most mind-blowing kisses Shay had ever experienced. She gasped as one of his hands came up to the nape of her neck, fingers threading through her hair and keeping her in place. He groaned into her mouth as she tentatively nipped at his bottom lip, and reached one of her hands up to gently rest against his jawline. They broke apart for air, eyes intently caught within one another's gaze for what seemed like ages.

The sound of a parent screaming for their child to get off the slide brought them back to reality, and Edgar's eyes broke from hers to dart up at the rapidly fading sunlight.

"Shit. We really need to stop doing this," he managed, pulling her to her feet and walking rapidly away from the park.

"Winter really is the darkest time of year, the sun sets at like 5," Shay grimaced, wishing she hadn't slept in so late. She was still dizzy from the kiss, the energy that their meeting had exuded was absolutely maddening. She hadn't felt that much of a primal response within herself towards anything, ever, and it both excited and terrified her.

"We gotta get you home... Alan's meeting Liz for dinner, so he'll take care of her," Edgar assured her, and Shay was glad they had planned it out this way. Alexis wasn't due to come back until New Year's Eve, which wasn't until tomorrow... They walked through the streets of Santa Carla, back towards the boardwalk as fast as they could manage. The sun had finally dipped low beneath the horizon and the streetlamps were all that lit their way through the increasing nighttime revelers. Edgar ducked down an alleyway as a crowd of shady looking guys appeared on their path, pulling Shay behind him.

"Are they...?" she whispered, but Edgar shook his head.

"Nah, but I'm not taking any chances with you," he replied, grip on her hand tightening. Shay couldn't help but snort at his newfound extreme protectiveness; vampires, okay, she could understand, and sure, she and Alexis had been attacked on their first night in Santa Carla, but she still hated feeling useless.

"I can take care of myself, you realize," she found herself saying, and Edgar turned his blazing dark eyes on her.

"Right, like the first night you were here," he snapped, and continued pulling her along. Shay felt herself bristle a bit at his tone.

"Listen, if I hadn't been so worried about Alexis, I'd have-"

"You'd have what? Shay, come on," Edgar whirled around, exasperated. He began crowding into her space, until she hit the wall of the alley with her back; she stood her ground, however, stubbornly meeting his gaze. If only he knew what I was capable of, she thought.

"I really can look after myself," she began, "it's just that I get caught up worrying about others and sometimes that... I freeze up, and it's hard to get out of that mindset," she explained, and Edgar seemed to soften a bit at that.

"Shay, I don't know why everything is happening so fast for us like this, but I- I really don't want anything to happen to you," he murmured, hand reaching up to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch, a similar gesture to the other night of their first meeting.

"Is that what you tell all the girls you try to rescue?" she teased, and Edgar made an offended sounding growl before he leaned in to kiss her deeply again. Shay melted in his arms, pulling him close and forgetting everything save the way he felt with her, forgetting anything except the feel of his rough hands, his tongue, his hair, forgetting their surroundings...

"Damn, Eddie, I never pictured you as a ladies' man!"

The cheerful voice that startled Shay back into the reality of the moment seemed to absolutely chill Edgar to the bone, as he was immediately shielding her from its owner, a stake pulled from his coat pocket and poised to strike.

"You need to leave," he growled, his voice dark.

The newcomer took a step closer, and Shay barely recognized one of the vampires from the other night. It was the youngest looking one, with short wavy hair and wide eyes, the one who had been fervently making out with another of their clan while groups of flustered women looked on. He smiled pleasantly at the both of them, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Never expected Ed here to land such a _squeeze_!" he quipped, laughing a bit as he craned his neck to look over Edgar's shoulder at Shay. She maintained a stony expression as she stared back, trying to not show any weakness. "I'm Sam, by the way, how rude of me!"

"No you're not! Sam's dead," Edgar bit back, and the vampire made an offended gasp.

"Now, that's just mean. I'm right here," he grinned, looking both terrifying and jovial all at once. "I've never felt more alive, Edgar! This is really the best thing that could ever happen to me. You're my friend, right? You should be happy for me," he smiled pleasantly again, and Edgar let out a harsh laugh.

"You're not any friend of mine, you bloodsucking demon!" he spat, and Shay was worried that the dramatics might provoke the vampire called Sam into attack; he simply laughed lightly, however, and ran his hand through his wavy hair.

"Always so edgy, isn't he? How do you stand it? How did _I_ stand it?" Sam asked, making brief eye contact with Shay before shaking his head. "So weird, you're older than me now. And you'll keep getting older, and older... unless we kill you first, I guess. Listen, if you and your brother could give us a break and back off for a bit, it might be in your best interest. We just need to get through the winter like anyone else does, you feel me?"

"Yeah, right, by murdering innocent people!" Edgar hissed, gripping the stake tighter. Sam's eyes flashed dangerously.

"People aren't so great, Edgar. The ones we kill are some of the scummiest to walk the earth... Santa Carla is a prime breeding ground for trash like that. Makes it easy on my conscience, at least," he chuckled.

"A vampire with a conscience? That's rich," Shay murmured, and Edgar grimaced in agreement with her. Sam laughed outright at that, eyes sparkling as he looked at her.

"You've found yourself a real _smart_ one, huh Edgar? I'm impressed!" he said, hint of sarcasm at his words. Shay bristled but held her tongue, mentally racing through some good defensive spells just in case.

"I'm warning you, bloodsucker, I'll stake your ass and send you to hell," Edgar growled, and Sam held up his hands.

"And have Marko on your ass until he rips you to shreds? Yeah, I wouldn't wish that on you even though you just threatened to kill me. I'm just here to ask you to lay off, as your friend..." he paused, staring for a moment very intently at Edgar. "Why can't you just be happy for me, Edgar? I've found my true family, my brothers, my _soulmate_... it doesn't need to be like this for us," he said, and Shay was stricken by how sincere he looked.

"Yeah, well, we were brothers once, and you threw that in the trash," Edgar hissed, cold gaze never once wavering. "I've only got one real brother, and that's Alan, so you can fuck right off and go back to your little _family_," he spat the last word as if it were a disgusting thing, and Sam's eyes flashed crimson.

"Last time I'll say this, Edgar. Lay off, or else," he said smoothly, turning to leave.

"Is that a fucking threat?" Edgar shouted after him, and Sam tilted his head back ever so slightly, a wry smile on his face.

"More like a warning. Enjoy yourselves while you can," and then he was gone, melting back into the bustling nighttime streets of Santa Carla.

* * *

Reviews as always are much loved and appreciated, as they show me that you love and appreciate this story! ;)


	6. The Hierophant

Important note with this update: I've had a bit of fun and made a little video trailer/side project that goes along with this fic! It's linked here if y'all would like to check it out~ Since fanfic dot net is weird with links, the easiest way to find it is through either finding this story on AO3 and clicking the link there, or else searching "Lost in the Shadows Fanfiction Trailer" on YouTube and it should pop up... If all else fails, here's the deconstructed link for ya (just paste the last bit behind the youtube url):

www . youtube watch?v=9fXWGn-yFuI&feature=

It's solely focused on Shay/Edgar & Alexis/Dwayne pairings as those are the main ones we have been seeing in the fic thus far, but also because it was extremely difficult to find ANY footage that worked for most of the other characters... I already had a hugely difficult time with Dwayne's film specifically, not to mention the difference in quality of some of the clips I was working with... but regardless, it was a fun project and it would mean the world if any readers of the fic would go watch it and let me know what you think! (It helps with visualizing the characters a bit too ~ though Edgar is aged up by a few years from the main film, you get the idea...)

ANYWAY, on to the next chapter!

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**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 6**

_I'm not sure what this could mean_

_I don't think you're what you seem_

_I do admit to myself_

_That it might hurt someone else_

_Then I'll never see just what we're meant to be_

_\- 'Bizarre Love Triangle', New Order_

"Miss Weiss, uh, you need to hit your mark this next take."

The assistant's tone was unsure, and Alexis couldn't blame him for being cautious. She was known to snap back rather bitchily after a long day of shooting, and today was no exception. The director had given her the same instructions over and over, and yet she couldn't manage to focus. She was shooting a fashion advertisement with a male model, who she draped herself across as organically as possible to show off the garments. It ended up looking forced and awkward, however, and they had discarded several shots already.

Alexis sighed but waved the assistant off, turning toward her coworker for the day and scrutinizing him closely. Dark hair contrasting nicely with her own lighter locks, a square jaw, defined and toned body... Alexis should have been thrilled to work with him, for all intents and purposes. And yet... she couldn't get those intense dark eyes of Dwayne's out of her mind. The way he had looked at her... she'd never been looked at by anyone like he had.

The director's voice snapped her back to reality, and she absently took her place beside the male model once again. In her peripheral vision, she could see him leaning against the wall in his proper place for the shot, arm draped softly across her shoulders. It brought back memories of her night out in Santa Carla at the boardwalk, running into Dwayne again after he had driven off those horrendous creeps. Furtively, she tried picturing the model's dark hair as Dwayne's, closing her eyes briefly and imagining that it was him with her in that moment. She opened her eyes and gazed intently into the camera, and the director scrambled to shoot the scene.

"Yes, Alexis, perfect! Keep that expression, play around a bit..." he instructed, and she pulled her arm upward to softly graze her hand across the stubble of the male model's face; the director was suddenly having a field day. Alexis too was guiltily enjoying her little mental role-play, however messed up it may be. The model certainly wasn't complaining.

Once the shoot had wrapped for the day, and Alexis was nestled in her bed at her parents' home, petting her dog Jacques absentmindedly, she reflected on how often her mind had been wandering towards the dark-haired biker over the past few days. She wondered what he might be doing in the days she had been back in L.A., whether or not he'd rescued many other damsels in distress much like her... That thought made her stomach drop, and so she dismissed it with a scoff and turned out her light. The dreams that came, however, weren't much help.

Alexis woke with a gasp, her body coated in a light sheen of sweat; the bedside alarm clock read 3:03 A.M. and she had a splitting headache. Flashes of her dreams were coming and going, fuzzy but still barely intelligible to her: she saw rushing ocean waves, dark asphalt flying past her, she was on the back of a motorcycle? Shaking her head, more images flooded her brain, out of focus... She was being pushed out of the way, a feeling of adrenaline, passion, then his face, so close to her own, getting closer, eyes dark and full of lust... then everything went red, and the headache's pain worsened. With a sickening lurch, she was up and out of the bed, across the room and collapsing into her private bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

She felt much better after this, but the dreams became less and less clear the longer she stayed awake... all she could remember was Dwayne's face, as she focused on it. She didn't want to lose that image, and though she figured she should have felt slightly weird to be dreaming about him, she pushed the thought aside. Shakily climbing back into bed, she calmed her breathing until sleep claimed her again.

The next morning she informed her parents that she'd be driving home that day rather than staying one more night; it was the 30th of December, and it was going to be hell getting out of L.A. since it was the day before New Year's Eve; Alexis was thankful her agency had hired a driver to take her home, as she would have been miserable driving alone for 5 and a half hours back to Santa Carla. On the long ride home, she found that even with the magazines, music, and attempts at napping, she would begin to brood and anticipate her return to the dangerous beachside town as each mile crept past.

By the time she made it home, the sun was creeping slowly down beyond the horizon; she tipped the driver and lugged her small bag up the front steps up to the front door of the townhome. She didn't expect Liz to be home, due to her job at the diner, but she was surprised to find that Shay wasn't in her room when she passed it on her way up to the third floor master bedroom in which she stayed. _Well, that sucks_, she thought to herself. Looks like she'd have to go out and try to find her friends, or else lay around bored and alone for the remainder of the evening. Hopefully going out alone wouldn't cause a repeat of the incident in the alleyway... a thrill went through her at the prospect of seeing Dwayne again, however, and she mentally scolded herself. Why was she getting so worked up over a guy?

She changed quickly out of her travel clothes and into a pair of black tight pants, a cropped leopard-print long-sleeved velvet shirt, and threw on a studded black leather jacket to complete the look. After touching up her makeup, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Dwayne had told her to look for the video store if she had wanted to get in touch with him again, so she made a guilty mental note to seek one out as she wandered through town that evening. She decided to leave things up to fate, and if she found Shay first then she'd give up on her quest for the video store. Yet if she just so happened to run into Dwayne before finding her roommate... She smirked a bit, but kept on her way.

The boardwalk area was much busier, perhaps due to the imminent New Year's festivities; Alexis was used to navigating crowds solo, however, and put on a determined and uninterested face as she wove seamlessly around groups of people that looked like they had half a mind to stop her to try and talk to her. Walk with a purpose, she told herself, her modeling training coming into play almost subconsciously as she treated the sidewalks as a sort of runway, and people moved out of the way accordingly.

"Walkin' like that's a sure way to attract attention," a deep voice cut across the bustling background noise of the crowds, and Alexis nearly spun on the spot in order to face its owner. There he was, leaning casually against the wall of what looked like Santa Carla's video store, in a strange sense of deja vu mimicking the pose the male model had been in during their shoot.

"The wrong kind of attention, I hope," she quipped back, hands on her hips. Dwayne chuckled, pushing himself off the wall and coming towards her.

"You have a knack for that, if our first meeting is anything to go by," he said, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. "Are you expecting me to always be around to crack the skulls of creeps who mess with you?"

"Oh I'm counting on it," she replied, her smile dazzling. He let out a bark of laughter, reaching out to wrap his arm around her; he spun her around towards the street, and her eyes landed on a motorbike parked beside several others against the curb.

"How about a different kind of danger tonight?" he whispered to her, and the thrill it sent shooting down her spine was intoxicating. She followed him as he hopped on the bike, and climbed on behind him. No helmets, of course not, he was dangerous and dark and it made her knees weak. He kicked the bike on and it roared to life; she wrapped her arms around him and he grinned at her, something inexplicable flashing in his eyes.

"Lex!" a familiar voice called to her over the roar of the motorcycle, and she turned to see Shay across the street from them, hand tightly gripped by Edgar Frog's. Raising her eyebrows at them, she then noticed the fear and worry lining her friend's face coupled with the utter rage on Edgar's as he glared at Dwayne; she flicked her eyes towards him, and his face was one of cool indifference, almost challenging Edgar to do something.

"Don't do this," Edgar's voice was rough but clearly a warning; what Alexis wasn't sure of is whether that warning was directed towards her or Dwayne.

"You don't get to make my decisions for me," she called back, answering in spite of herself. Dwayne's laughter was loud and infectious, and he kicked off on the motorbike and then they were flying through the streets, leaving a horrified Shay and Edgar behind them.

o.o.o.o.o

Dwayne took her to the bluff overlooking the lighthouse. The ride there was more thrilling than usual for him, as he normally had Laddie with him on the back of his bike, not an intoxicatingly gorgeous woman. Her scent whipped around him as they flew on his bike, but he managed to stay focused enough to get them there. She occasionally let out screams of delight every time he performed a particularly daring turn or revved up the bike, and the sound sent electricity through his spine. Their arrival at the bluff had him coming to a stop and parking the bike, sliding off quickly so that he could help her off. Her hair was disheveled, but she was grinning at him, radiant.

"That was great, you clearly know your way around a bike," she laughed, surveying the area. "Now where've you brought me? Somewhere to get me alone, hm?"

"Something like that, yeah," he admitted, his smile cryptic as he himself hadn't quite figured out how tonight would end.

"Hmm, planning to murder me all the way out here? Toss my body over the side, make it look like I jumped?" she quipped, and Dwayne only found her morbidity all the more interesting.

"We are in the murder capital of the world," he replied, not contradicting her statement. She didn't seem afraid of him, however, though she should be. Dwayne realized with a sudden pang in his chest that he actually didn't want her to fear him, however.

"So, you've got me all alone, out in a secluded location, easy for covering up all sorts of unspeakable acts..." she reached out her hand and lightly trailed it along the sleeve of his jacket as she spoke, eyes never meeting his until the last moment, and she spoke again after a beat.

"What're you gonna do about it then?"

Her words had him biting back a deep growl, suddenly having her pinned with her back to his motorbike; one of his hands reached into her messy cornsilk hair and angled her head towards his so that he could crash their lips together. It had been a shockingly long time since Dwayne had actually kissed someone, but never in his life (and afterlife) had any kiss compared. He felt as if he were devouring her, tongue swiping against hers, savoring her warmth as well as each little gasp and moan his ministrations elicited from her. Alexis' hands were so warm against his jaw, one wandering towards the nape of his neck and tangling in his hair; he groaned and lifted her up slightly to where she was sitting on the seat of the bike, and her legs parted to accommodate him between them.

"Guess you aren't all talk," she murmured against his lips, and he chuckled darkly before claiming her mouth once more. One arm was wound tightly around her small frame; his other hand had come up to caress the creamy exposed skin of her neck as they kissed, and it was then that Dwayne's shock caused him to stiffen, eyes opening to gaze down at Alexis in astonishment. He was tempted by her, yes, but not reacting to her sweet scent in the same ways he had with countless kills before her. This was a temptation of the flesh, a deep burning lust and need to be close to her in every way, not to simply drink her dry and never be able to partake in this exquisite feeling again.

She was looking at him questioningly now, almost annoyed that he had stopped. He let out a slow breath of air, absently running a hand along her thigh.

"Sorry... I just got distracted, for a bit. You're a lot to take in," he said huskily, and she raised an eyebrow, her thoroughly-kissed lips parting a bit in a smirk.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one saying that? Though we have way too much clothing on for that yet," her innuendo was enough to make Dwayne throw back his head and laugh vigorously. He leaned in, still chuckling, and kissed her deeply again.

"You're one hell of a woman, I'll say that much," he spoke reverently, coming to the startling yet comforting realization that he wouldn't be killing her tonight, not yet. He wanted more time with her, and thus he obliged both of their needs as they came together fiercely as the lighthouse's faded beam crossed over their forms atop the bluff.

o.o.o.o.o

Edgar's fury at the vampire who had whisked off Alexis into the night was nothing compared to Shay's, although her anger was directed upon herself. She shouldn't have gotten so distracted, she shouldn't have frozen upon the sight of the vampire with her friend... wasn't she just talking to Edgar about how he needn't worry about her doing just that anymore? How she could take care of herself?

Sparing a glance towards Edgar, she felt her heart sink upon noting his face set in a brooding, dark glare as he stabbed his food viciously with a fork. They had retreated into the diner Liz worked at, sitting at a booth in the back corner so as not to disturb the little date Alan and Liz were on at another table nearby. Alan hadn't said anything to his brother when they had walked in, but he was definitely able to pick up on Edgar's stormy expression and seemed to tense. Shay waved both he and Liz aside as her roommate had attempted to disengage from the date in order to drag them over to join their table; Edgar's mood was not conducive towards polite conversation right now.

After all this, Shay knew by his demeanor that he wouldn't take kindly to finding out her true nature. Anything supernatural was bound to set off his defensive instincts, and despite what had passed between them earlier that evening, she doubted it was enough to save her from a full on witch hunt. He'd probably think she had spelled him into those kisses, she thought wryly, sipping her coffee.

"We have no idea of knowing where he's taken her, and we're outnumbered since it's dark out..." Edgar muttered, more to himself really. The only reason Shay wasn't fully panicking just yet was that the charm she had placed on Alexis's keychain hadn't been extinguished; she would sense it if something life threatening were to happen to her, but it wasn't possible for her to track the location discreetly. She'd need to do a full ritual to scry for Alexis in order to determine where the vampire had taken her.

"You can't think of anywhere they like to hang out? Where they normally um... make their kills?" she stumbled over the last part of her words, nearly losing her voice as she thought of the implications behind them. Edgar grimaced.

"There's the main hideout, which would be a suicide run at this time of night... Even with Alan, we'd be dead in 10 seconds going over there. They're pretty careless otherwise, though... bodies turn up all over the place. The ocean, the dump, parking lots, you name it."

"Well that's just super," Shay hissed, biting down on her lower lip with worry. They were wasting time, but had decided that they needed to make their way back home together with Alan and Liz; safety in numbers. Shay wished they'd hurry up, as she could probably distract Edgar long enough to perform her spells at home and locate Alexis... She didn't want to rush Liz and Alan, however, as to not alarm her roommate.

"Oh, shit, they're standing up, finally," Edgar was up and tossing a few bills on their table before Shay had even realized what was happening. She hastily stood up and the two of them reached Alan and Liz as they were nearing the door of the diner. "Headed home? Great timing, so are we!" Edgar said with horribly faked cheerfulness. Alan gave him a look, but picked up on his brother's underlying haste and chose not to say anything.

"Are we getting an escort home every night from now on? What _have_ I done to deserve this!" Liz laughed, and Alan reached out to grab her hand as they walked.

"You deserve the best of the best, and that would be us," he quipped, causing her to roll her eyes but snicker nonetheless.

The walk home was brisk, adrenaline coursing through Shay's veins as she concentrated on sensing the protection charm around Alexis; it seemed to be strong, but at any moment could cut out and signify the worst. Upon their arrival at the townhome, Liz unlocked the door and let them all in, seemingly oblivious to the mounting tension.

"You want me to make some drinks? We can put something on TV," she offered, and Shay latched onto the idea immediately.

"Yes, that sounds great! I'll help, you two go sit," she started, tampering down her eagerness. She followed Liz towards their small liquor cabinet, noting out of the corner of her eye something that made her stomach turn. On the kitchen island, in the little bowl where they had been keeping all the spare keys and mailbox key, sat Alexis's car keys: the leather keychain attached to it was the very same one with the protection charm Shay had imbued into it. Shay had forgotten that Alexis had used a company driver for her trip, and had no need for her car keys. Her panic began to rise, and she nearly started shaking with anxiety at the implications. Alexis could be dead already, and she wouldn't have felt it.

Alan had made his way over towards their large couch in the meantime and Edgar was hissing something low in his ear, both of their faces alarmed as he was filled in on the situation at hand.

"Whiskey, Rum, Vodka...?" Liz called out, pulling down a couple of glasses.

"Vodka for me, baby!" Alan replied with a grin, and plopped down casually on the couch, reaching for the remote. He really was good at hiding his emotions, Shay noted. Edgar, on the other hand, wore them plainly on his face. He slowly took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, and as soon as he had, Shay made her move.

"You can make me something with rum, just no coconut... I'm going to go to the bathroom and feed the cat real quick," she said to Liz, loud enough for the room at large to hear. It was an excuse that gave her enough time to quickly perform her scrying spell, and if Edgar asked what took so long, she could say she went to go check for any signs in Alexis's room. She spared him a glance, holding up one finger in a 'wait here' gesture that she prayed he would follow along with; his eyes were questioning but placidly so, and she darted up the stairs towards her room sending a little prayer up to Hecate that he wouldn't try to follow her.

Knowing now that she had been enjoying a false sense of security due to the protection charm, she closed and locked her door and set to work with such speed that she normally never would have dared when performing a ritual in the comfort of her own room. She grabbed her scrying mirror and set it flat on the windowsill, her altar to her right. The moonlight was shining just so through the overcast December sky, and a few moonbeams made it through the clouds to alight against the glass of the mirror, which would make it easier for this process to go by as Shay would be able to harness additional lunar energy.

She knelt in front of the mirror and placed the tips of all ten fingers on the glass, staring at her reflection; she noticed only for a second just how worried her expression was, before she forced herself to relax and focus. It was difficult, but she knew how much was at stake if she couldn't locate Alexis... with a deep, steadying breath, she latched onto the mental image of her friend and allowed her gaze on the mirror to go slightly out of focus, opening her mind to what the mirror would show her.

Her vision began to blur around the edges as she kept thinking intently of Alexis, where is Alexis, is Alexis okay, where is Alexis... the mental mantra began to blur her vision even further, but the mirror sharpened suddenly in the middle and for a moment, Shay saw what looked to be the hazy form of a lighthouse, and then waves crashing against a steep shoreline... Alexis, is Alexis okay, where is she, is she okay... The vision in the mirror glazed over, and Shay briefly saw the face of Dwayne the vampire; that certainly did the opposite of making her feel better, but she couldn't allow her emotions to overpower her focus. She continued, pushing past the image as the glass blurred again, and a fog rippled across her vision as she attempted to concentrate. Sharply and suddenly, however, it came back into focus on a familiar street that Shay couldn't place... Alexis was walking on the sidewalk, and the vampire was with her, just a few paces behind her... Just a little further and Shay might be able to place where they were, they had turned and began ascending a set of steps towards a door...

A pounding on her bedroom door jolted her out of focus, and she lost it. Cursing under her breath, she bolted up from her spot by the mirror and went towards her door, thankful that she had locked it behind her.

"Shay, you need to get down here, now!" Edgar's panicked voice was on the other side, and she felt her heart stutter at the tone of his voice. She unlocked and opened her door as marginally as possible so that he couldn't see into her room fully as she darted out onto the landing, shutting her door behind her.

"Don't want the cat getting out, he's weird around strangers," she said lamely, but he wasn't really paying attention. Edgar's eyes were wild and terrified, and he grabbed her arm firmly. He began dragging her down the stairs two at a time, frantic.

"You need to get downstairs, before..."

They had reached the living room, and Shay was met with the sight of Alan standing defensively in front of Liz, who looked bemused with a drink in her hand; by the front door stood Alexis, looking thoroughly disheveled, and directly behind her was Dwayne, the vampire, who as if it were nothing was just stepping over the threshold into their home.

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Reviews as always are much loved and appreciated, as they show me that you love and appreciate this story! ;) Remember to check out the companion video to this fanfic which I have linked above!


	7. The Lovers

Sorry it's been so long since an update! I'm working on ~3 stories at once right now during quarantine, but know that this one has been planned out and mostly outlined so it will get completed... eventually .

Also I'll be making a comprehensive playlist for this fic too! The songs I've been featuring so far are of course partly captioned at the start of each chapter, but feel free to add any suggestions/recommendations of your favorite 80s bops that y'all feel go well with the story!~

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**Lost in the Shadows**

**Chapter 7**

_Whatever burns, burns eternally,_

_So take me in, turns internally,_

_When I'm on fire, my body will be_

_Forever yours, nocturnal me_

_\- 'Nocturnal Me', Echo & The Bunnymen_

Edgar was about to lose his goddamn mind. The filthy vamp stood as bold as ever in the girls' living room, smirking slightly at both he and Alan. He wondered quickly why he hadn't simply drained Alexis already, as he and Shay had definitely seen them ride off together on his bike. He supposed the reason was this one; he needed to get into her good graces so that he'd gain an invite into their home for the rest of his vamp coven... Damn, they were getting sneakier, now?! Shay's hands were in a vice-like grip on his arm and shoulder, as he had stood in front of her protectively much like how Alan was shielding Liz; the latter seemed to come out of her stupor at their behavior first, attempting to walk around Alan in order to get to Alexis.

"Didn't expect you back so soon, Lex," she started, giving Alan an irritated look as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders casually but firmly, keeping her in place.

"Yeah, and what's _he_ doing here?" Alan said smoothly, with a dark expression all the same. Liz looked taken aback at his hostility; Edgar snorted but reached into his pocket all the same, fingers curling around the handle of the stake (thanking his lucky stars he always came prepared, and for deep pockets).

"Uh, I could say the same for you two," Alexis snapped back, eyes flashing. "I don't see why I can't have someone over when you're both blatantly-"

"We don't know him, Lex," Shay cut in, but she was met with a bark of outraged laughter from her friend.

"Like we know _them_ any better! It's been, what, a week?" she retorted, and Edgar internally cursed at her sound logic despite how wrong she was about everything all at once.

"You know he's technically banned from the boardwalk? Cops have told him and his gang to clear off many times... last few times that happened, the cops always ended up disappearing too. He's not exactly a stand up guy," Edgar cut in, and he was thankful that Liz's expression reflected a hint of fear at his words. The vamp, if anything, only seemed to grin wider, though he cast a quick glance over to the girl he was after. Alexis looked stricken, but only for a moment.

"Who I invite into the home my family paid for is my business. Dwayne is my guest, you don't have to interact with him," she said coldly.

"Lex... just, can we chat for a second?" Shay attempted desperately. She moved out from behind Edgar with a slight squeeze to his upper arm, and beckoned Alexis forward. For a beat, Edgar worried she wouldn't do it; after a moment's pause, however, Alexis sighed heavily and stormed off into the kitchen. Shay walked over to Liz and grabbed her arm, pulling her after Alexis. Once the girls were in the kitchen, Edgar and Alan moved forward towards the vampire, who seemed completely unbothered.

"What's your game, shitsucker?" Edgar hissed, making it quite clear he was holding a stake in his pocket without actually taking it out. "You trying to get access to these girls for the rest of 'em?"

"Actually, I was coming over for a drink... don't look at me like that, her words!" the vampire laughed at his own little joke.

"Well, that isn't fucking happening," Alan said in a voice that was cheerfully deadly.

"And you're gonna stop me?" the vampire actually barked a hearty laugh this time, causing the brothers to tense. "Look, would you believe me if I said I was just coming over for some... well, a roll in the hay if we're being honest, though we already had a pretty good time out by the cliffs if I say so myself," he smirked. Edgar's brow knitted together, and he exchanged a quick look with Alan.

"Not for a second, vamp..." he hissed, though he was feeling uneasy. Vampires were supposed to be primal, mindless killers once they caught a scent they desperately wanted; Edgar was positive this one was fixated on Alexis, so why hadn't he killed her yet?

"I can see your little brain-wheels turning," the vampire sighed. "I really don't have any desire to start a tussle with you two right now, not because I couldn't take you," he glared at them, "but because despite being a vampire-by the way, I have a name, and it's Dwayne- I'm still a guy," he flashed a charming, pearl-white grin that made Edgar's temper rise.

"You're really trying to tell us that you're only here because you're trying to sleep with Alexis?" was Alan's incredulous reply. "And not drain her dry?" he added.

"Yeah," Dwayne replied, and for a moment Edgar noted that even he seemed taken aback by the response he just gave.

"You're not getting anywhere near those girls," Edgar ended up hissing at him, "I'm not gonna believe this lying sack of-"

"Hear me out before you go and make a huge mess," Dwayne cut him off, and Edgar was _this_ close to pulling the stake out of his pocket and gutting the fucker for interrupting him. "Seems like you two are in the same boat as me right now, eh? And you don't want your ladies knowing about what it is that you really do for a living... Though it feels like this one's already gotten his girl to listen," he gestured over at Edgar, who huffed. Damn right, he got his girl in on it-wait, his girl?

"He's got a point," Alan mumbled despite himself, and Edgar looked at his brother incredulously. "What! If they aren't eased into it, that would really fuck up my chances with Liz..."

"You moron! If we stake the fucker here and now, they'll have to see what we're talking about!" Edgar snapped.

"Yeah, and then they'll love hanging out with you after being traumatized like that," Dwayne said smugly. Alan bit his lip, and Edgar couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Was his brother actually falling for this bullshit?

"Better that than them being dead!" he snarled, making a move to pull the stake out of his pocket. Dwayne was faster, and grabbed his upper arm and held it in place with what looked like barely any effort.

"Look, I'm not saying we become best buds, fuckin' hell... I just want a truce for tonight," Dwayne said, exasperated.

"And what happens tomorrow night? You come back with the whole frickin' undead Brady Bunch?" he retorted. Dwayne's eyes flashed dangerously.

"My brothers are not going near her," he said with a growl which even Edgar shuddered slightly at.

"O-okay, then, what? You're just going to leave each night without having drained anyone? What are you, a vegetarian now?" Alan asked reasonably. Dwayne scoffed.

"Please, of course not. I'm... going to drink elsewhere," he said slowly. Edgar narrowed his eyes, but wrenched his arm out of the slightly painful grip.

"Okay, asshole, fine. Say we take you up on this truce, can you promise that you won't touch Shay or Liz?" he hissed, eyes narrowed.

"Fine, whatever, I won't touch your girls... Alexis would be pretty put out if I did anyway," he said nonchalantly, and Alan seemed to relax ever so slightly next to him.

"Ok, saying we believe you on that, then... Can you promise you won't drain Alexis?" he pushed further. Dwayne looked irritated.

"I just told you, I wasn't going to-"

"Forget just tonight; you've been invited in, you could come back whenever you want. How can we know you aren't gonna rip her throat out that next time?" Edgar persisted, and once again was taken aback by the stricken expression on Dwayne's face. It was gone in an instant, replaced by fury.

"I can't... promise that. I don't know, just take my word that I won't touch your girls and fuck off already," Dwayne's response was hostile but Edgar took note of how oddly desperate he was starting to sound. The vamp must have really gotten it bad for Alexis' scent...

"How do we know you won't just invite the rest of your coven into the house?" Alan moved to a seemingly safer topic, and Dwayne's usual expression was back.

"I'm not Max. The rest of the coven would need separate invitations to get in; if I sired anyone, they'd be able to get in through my invitation, just how we're able to go into any place Max has been invited into. If David were invited in somewhere, us boys could get in too, but Max couldn't... it's diluted down the totem pole so to speak," he explained casually. Edgar squinted at him, wondering why he was giving up such valuable information. Perhaps to gain their trust so they'd take the truce?

"I still don't know if we can trust you," Alan said honestly, though he was looking much more sidelined about everything.

"Well, you've got about 20 seconds to figure it out, I think the girls are just about done," Dwayne smirked. Edgar flicked his gaze over to the kitchen, and then back to the vampire.

"Fine. For tonight, we do it your way. But we'll both be here all night, and watching this place in shifts. So don't even think about trying anything," Edgar snapped.

"Well, that's a waste of a good sleep schedule for you two, but alright then," Dwayne grinned, and then he flicked his nail across his palm and held out his hand to them. "Shake on it, and my word is binding."

Edgar stared down at the proffered hand, where a thin line of blood had welled to the surface and began dripping slightly down the vampire's palm. It was Alan who took it, and Dwayne let out a soft hiss as their palms met.

"Oh good, I see you've figured out your shit then." Alexis's voice was snappy but Edgar could still hear the relief in it as the girls walked back into the room; Liz too looked much calmer at the sight of Alan and Dwayne shaking hands. Upon letting go, Edgar expected to see blood covering their palms, but to his surprise the cut was gone and no blood remained. Alan glanced down at his own palm and his eyebrows furrowed, but he shook it off and smiled over at Liz.

"How about that drink now, yeah?" he said smoothly.

Edgar caught Shay's gaze and immediately walked over to her while Alexis unceremoniously grabbed Dwayne's arm and pulled him towards the stairs. The vampire flashed him a shit-eating grin before ascending after her. Shay's fingers were gripping his arm tightly again and pulling him into the kitchen without a word. He found himself dragged into the pantry where she finally turned those sharp green eyes on him.

"She's so fucking stubborn, I tried so hard to... to..." she began, looking panicky. Edgar reached for her and she was nestled in his arms then, a shudder wracking her body as they connected. She felt so right curled into him, he didn't know how to process it, it was almost distracting...

"Alan made a deal with the vamp, he's not going to touch you or Liz. He can't invite any of his freaky brothers into the house either, one of you needs to do it... something about not being on the right spot in their coven's totem pole..." he began quietly, and she seemed to sag in relief for a moment.

"But what's keeping him from..."

"I need to do some more research on vampire deals, I've never seen that shit before... But it seems legitimate unless he's also got some kind of witchcraft to trick us with," he said, and Shay stiffened in his arms.

"Tell me about the deal," she said, almost listlessly. Edgar was puzzled by her behavior but he recounted how Dwayne had cut his own hand and after shaking Alan's, there was no blood or any signs of a mark.

"You sure there's no mark? Does Alan have anything?" she asked, and Edgar paused, thinking.

"I didn't see anything on his hand, but he looked a bit spooked once he had let go..."

"Hmm." Shay didn't say anything more after that. Edgar idly ran his fingers through her hair, wondering what she was thinking.

"We told him we'd stay here tonight, in any case... Sleep in shifts, that sort of thing," he began, and Shay looked up at him with wide eyes. "Uh, I'd stay on the couch, of course!" he stammered, heat creeping up his face. He didn't mean for it to sound like that, not so quickly, they'd only just...

"Oh, uh, great, that... works," she said, her own cheeks pink. Edgar breathed a little easier, slightly worried he'd come across as a creep for a second there. "I'll stay up with you and watch movies, if that helps," she offered with a small smile, and he couldn't help returning it.

"Oooh, whoops! Sorry for interrupting, I was just seeing what was taking so long..." Liz's voice cut through as she appeared in the pantry doorway, and Shay made to jump apart from him but Edgar kept his arm around her as she turned to face her roommate, face reddening even more.

"We were just... Um." Shay stammered, her blush deepening.

"Mhm..." Liz teased, taking a sip of her drink.

"Wondering if you guys wanted to watch a movie or something. Thinking of getting some popcorn going," Edgar offered smoothly, reaching out with his other hand and grabbing a box of popcorn off the shelf nearest him. Liz smirked over at them, but nodded her head.

"I'm game, we'll probably need something going on the tv anyway... Three stories or not, I don't wanna hear what's going on up there," she said with a shudder before walking back out.

"Funnily enough, we probably should be able to hear what's happening up there... in case she starts screaming bloody murder," Edgar grumbled, and Shay couldn't help a small outraged laugh escaping her.

"Pun intended, I hope?" she said lightly, though her eyes betrayed how nervous she still was feeling about all of this. She grabbed the popcorn from his hands and a carton of M&M's off the shelf as well, before heading out into the kitchen. Edgar followed her, his own emotions in a whirl.

o.o.o.o.o

The night was extremely tense, and made all the worse due to Liz being the only one kept 'in the dark' over their charismatic vampire guest. Shay was able to convince her roommate to watch several films with the boys, all the while returning to the kitchen to make more snacks, some of which she infused with a few spells to make Liz drowsy enough to go up to bed around 1 A.M., Alan in tow. Shay had raised her eyebrows at her roommate's boldness, but Alan certainly wasn't complaining. Edgar had shot his brother a stern look but smirked all the same once he was out of sight.

"He'll keep an eye on her," he had said after the telltale sound of Liz's door closing was heard.

Shay had excused herself to grab a blanket (and a protection charm necklace) from her room, allowing Jareth out in the process. Upon returning downstairs to the living room, she was bewildered to find her normally skittish familiar curled up on the couch next to Edgar.

"I think he likes me," Edgar said smugly, reaching out to scratch behind the cat's ears. "But, seriously, what are you feeding him? He's-"

"A behemoth, I know," Shay giggled, settling back down on the couch with the fluffy blanket draped over her. Edgar's arm found its way around her waist and pulled her close, so she lifted the blanket up so that he could join her.

"You can rest for a while if you're tired," he said gently. "I'll keep watching uh..."

"Full House?" Shay snickered, as they glanced over at what was playing on the tv. "Certainly feels that way right now..." Edgar huffed in agreement, but he reached for the controller and flipped through some channels idly. Shay got comfortable against him, and despite her anxiety over the vampire currently upstairs on the third floor of her home, she felt herself getting sleepy. Being near Edgar was like a balm to her frazzled senses, and she relished in the feeling of closeness between them; it was so much better than the agonizing feelings she had felt the previous night. She wondered, before succumbing to this comforting haze of sleep, if her dreams would calm with him there...

Everything was much more vivid, it was as if her surroundings were impossibly hyper-focused. Yet if she tried to focus her attention on any one thing, it blurred and distorted despite her peripherals being crystal clear. Shay had never dreamed like this before, and she fretfully wondered what it could mean as she glided through what appeared to be the streets of Santa Carla. She found herself leaving the boardwalk, and floating rapidly past the coastline, through some trees and bursting out onto a precipice overlooking cliffs... Everything was sharp and blurry all at once, and for some reason she knew she was looking North, and that something was coming...

Edgar was with her then, and she was turned to face him; he was the thing she saw with the most clarity, every feature defined and focused as he stared out North and spoke.

"_It's you and me,_" he said, voice echoing in her mind, and she reached for him but she was falling, plummeting off the side of the cliff, dark cold waves rushing towards her...

With a jolt she was awake.

"Shay, what's the matter?" Edgar's voice startled her, hearing its rough cadence beside her was both instantly calming but also sending her nerves singing due to the dream she had just awoken from. She glanced at the clock on the wall; 3:03 A.M.

"I didn't sleep much, huh," she muttered, shaking slightly and making to sit up. Edgar stilled her movements, searching her face.

"You were dreaming," he stated, not a question. She nodded.

"Im going to make some tea," she said, and rose with the blanket falling off of her and draping over Edgar.

She tried processing what she had just dreamt, but it was eluding her at the moment. She brewed up a quick concoction of herbal tea that included lavender, rosemary, gotu kola, and she added a slight pinch of cinnamon sugar before bringing it back into the living room and settling next to Edgar with her mug clutched in her hands.

"You good?" he asked quietly, and she nodded before taking a deep drink of her tea.

"Not been sleeping well lately," she answered truthfully with a grimace. "I'll hopefully get used to everything and back in a rhythm..." she stared into the mug, watching as the steam curled and wafted into shapes she couldn't make out.

"Tell me more about the coven you came across where you were from," Edgar asked suddenly, and Shay looked over at him sharply. She hadn't been lying to him about that, however she didn't want to reveal too much... She and her family had been shocked that the coven had gotten that close to Salem to begin with, as they should have known better. Too many witch families in one place did not bode well for them, and yet... For some reason they persisted and tried to hunt within the city. Her great-aunt Gina had put a stop to _that_ pretty quickly.

"They... well, came to my hometown to hunt, I'm guessing. Managed to get a taste of someone our family knew, but she was able to get away... I came across them one night when I was out with my siblings and some friends, they didn't take us all on but it was clear what they were... Said some really creepy shit to us and we booked it to the closest person's house and stayed there all night. Within the next few days they had left the city," she finished, hoping that her limited account was enough for him.  
In reality, the girl who was attacked was also a witch, and was able to use a spell to get the vampire off of her before alerting other members of the Salem descendants; Shay and her siblings went out with other witches and warlocks they knew as an attempt to lure the entire vampire coven into the open to get a headcount for the elders to then properly drive them out. Their leader had a terrifying beauty about him, timeless and cold. She remembered his cool gaze fixating on her as his fellows snarled what they would like to do to them all, ripping them limb from limb as they drained them dry. She shuddered, and Edgar's arms were suddenly pulling her close.

"I'd love to know how someone managed to fight them off, let alone why they left... Maybe you've got some hunters livin' in wherever you're from... Which was where, again?" he asked.

"Um... I grew up in Salem," she said, not wanting to lie to him. Edgar's eyebrows raised, but he only smirked at her.

"Ah, must have been a witch then who kicked their sorry asses out," he joked, and Shay felt her heart stutter. "Not that they're probably any better... You really lived there huh? You seem to be a supernatural magnet," he mused, and Shay's insides twisted uncomfortably.

"I loved living there, but I needed a change," she said quietly, and Edgar's gaze became concerned.

"Don't tell me, some psycho ex-boyfriend?" he said jokingly, but Shay's answering frown caused his face to blanch a bit.

"Close enough," she mumbled, taking another long sip of her tea, draining it and setting the mug down. Ben was a young warlock that her family had always pushed her towards, hoping to unite two powerful witch families one day...

"If you don't want to talk about it..." Edgar stammered, and Shay blinked up at him; his emotions seemed frayed, as if he both wanted to know what happened while also not wanting to strain whatever it was they were beginning to explore between them.

"Oh, it's fine. He was manipulative and controlling, and I got out just in time I think. I'm over it, really," she said with a reassuring smile. Edgar relaxed, his grip around her tightening slightly.

"Well, not sure if you picked the right place to come after all that, but you won't get bored around here at least..." he said with a wry laugh. Shay joined him, looking up and meeting his eyes.

"I wouldn't have met you, though, if I hadn't," she said, and he scoffed at her, his eyes sparking with warmth nevertheless.

"How corny can you get?" he said softly, and then he was pulling her in for another searing kiss that left her dizzy.

Her senses were alight with every touch of his fingers and swipe of his tongue; she had never felt this kind of attraction to another person before. Edgar seemed to be responding in like fashion, pulling her onto his lap and deepening their kisses significantly. The blanket fell discarded back onto the couch as they became wrapped up in each other, exploring what sensations were being elicited between them with vigor. Shay knew she might not be able to stop herself from taking this further, as it just felt utterly right to be here with him, more right and real than anything else going on around her. Edgar was matching her enthusiasm just as closely, moving to suck lightly along her jaw and then the hollow between her neck and collarbone; she gasped and the sound had him flip them so that she lie flat under him on the couch. They stared at one another for a moment, both sets of eyes fixed and searching the other for any sign of reluctance. There was none. Edgar's rough hands came to caress her face, and she reached into his sandy hair, loosening it from its red bandana as she pulled his face close to her own.

"Do you want this?" he asked, pupils blown wide as he searched her face, lust rolling off him in waves. Shay detected something deeper in his emotions, something complementary to her own, and she reached up to kiss him.

"Yes. I'm sure," she whispered against his lips. Their fervent kisses became more heated; Shay's desire to be close to him, that overwhelming thrumming under her skin... She felt both on fire and doused with cold water, her limbs shaking from the effort of reining in her magical power as they fell together. She had done this only a few times before, but never had it elicited this kind of response; it was as if while they made love, their very souls became connected too. She wasn't able to truly focus on that aspect, however, as the sensations flooding over her sent her reeling, as she was feeling his as well as her own.

Moments later, her vision went white and she saw stars, and sudden darkness overtook the room. Edgar lie on top of her, spent but sitting up not too soon after, dazedly looking around the now-dark room in confusion. Shay blinked slowly and realized that the darkness in the room was due to the lights, which had blown out. Realizing that must have been her fault, she pulled Edgar back to her and kissed him again. He kissed back, pulling the fluffy blanket over them both and nestling together with her as they slowly were claimed by sleep, nothing else mattering to them than the other.

* * *

AWRIGHT FOLKS that's that; all 3 of the gals have 'sealed the deal' with their boys thus far; don't look at me like that, they're young twentysomethings and IT BE LIKE THAT (slow burn who? don't know her)

Will that mean things get easier for them? Absolutely not! :)

So stay tuned and leave me a review or two letting me know your thoughts!


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